Oct 30, 2025
Captain Startup
The Ledger of Grit: Ashifi Gogo - When Text Messages Save Lives
How a Ghanaian Engineer Turned Scratch-Off Codes and SMS Into a $200 Billion Solution to Africa's Deadliest Market Failure
Captain Startup
16 min read
You've never heard of him. But his invention has verified over 3 billion products across Africa and Asia.
In 2008, 84 Nigerian children died after their parents gave them teething syrup. The bottles looked legitimate. The pharmacy seemed real. The price was right.
The syrup contained diethylene glycol—a toxic chemical found in antifreeze.
A Dartmouth PhD student from Ghana read the news and realized something: Africa had better mobile phone infrastructure than water infrastructure. SMS worked everywhere. Clean water didn't.
If counterfeiters could exploit supply chains, maybe mobile phones could protect them.
This is the story of how Ashifi Gogo turned scratch-off codes—the same technology used for pre-paid phone cards—into a weapon against the counterfeit drug industry that kills over 700,000 people annually. And how a simple text message became the difference between medicine and poison.
Chapter 1: The University Strike That Changed Everything
Ghana, Early 2000s
Ashifi Gogo attended Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology primary and junior high school in Ghana. He was preparing for university when Ghana's university professors went on strike.
The strike would delay his enrollment indefinitely.
Growing up in Ghana, Ashifi witnessed something peculiar: he could surf the internet on his mobile phone from anywhere, but couldn't always get clean tap water to drink. "The only state-of-the-art infrastructure we have is our cellphone network," he would later explain.
Counterfeit drugs were everywhere. Stories circulated constantly—families buying medicine that didn't work, children whose illnesses worsened because antibiotics contained insufficient active ingredients, malaria treatments that were just sugar pills with dye.
According to International Policy Network reports, up to one-third of the drug supply in certain African countries was fake or substandard. Nearly half the drugs sold in Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Burundi, and the Congo were substandard.
Facing the university strike, Ashifi made a decision that would ultimately change thousands of lives: he took the SATs.
In 2001, he received a full scholarship to Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington—7,500 miles from home.
Chapter 2: The American Education
Whitman College, Washington State, 2001-2005
At Whitman, Ashifi double-majored in mathematics and physics. The liberal arts education taught him something unexpected: to think broadly across disciplines rather than specialize early.
"Had I stayed in Ghana and not come to the United States for college, I would probably have pursued a deep technical specialization early on in my academic career," Gogo explained years later. "In the US, by contrast, I was encouraged to think broadly across disciplines. And I'm convinced that played a significant role in my business success to date."
He graduated in 2005 and moved to Dartmouth College to pursue a PhD in engineering at Thayer School of Engineering.
His PhD thesis topic: authentication technologies for emerging markets.
Chapter 3: The Idea That Didn't Work (Yet)
Dartmouth, 2005-2009
Ashifi's first venture wasn't counterfeit drugs. It was produce.
He developed an idea to put 2D barcodes on organic food items—fruits and vegetables specifically. Consumers could scan the code and learn the origin and age of what they were holding.
"We were onto something," Gogo recalls, "but we didn't initially know quite what it was."
The produce idea never took off. But the underlying concept—using simple technology to verify authenticity—stuck with him.
Then came Nigeria. November 2008.
At least 84 children died after drinking teething syrup tainted with diethylene glycol. The manufacturer had obtained ingredients from an unlicensed chemical maker. The poison looked, tasted, and smelled like glycerin—a common component of such syrups.
It was just one incident in a massive, ongoing crisis.
The World Health Organization estimated that more than 1 million people die of malaria every year, and 200,000 of those deaths could be prevented if all counterfeit antimalarials were eliminated.
Ashifi had an uncle who worked in Ghana's pharmaceutical industry. Through him, Ashifi was able to broker meetings with key government officials and top executives in Nigeria's pharmaceutical industry.
The group was already desperate for solutions. The cough syrup poisonings were part of a much larger problem they couldn't solve through enforcement alone.
Ashifi's pitch was deceptively simple: drug makers should adopt packaging that included scratch-off codes—similar to those used on pre-paid calling cards.
Consumers scratch the label, text the code to a toll-free number, and instantly receive confirmation: "Yes, genuine" or "No, fake."
If fake, they'd get a hotline number to report it.
Chapter 4: Building Sproxil
2009
In 2009, while still completing his PhD, Ashifi founded Sproxil as part of Dartmouth's PhD Innovation Program—becoming Dartmouth's first-ever PhD Innovation Fellow.
The company name came from "secure proxy"—the idea of creating a secure verification layer between manufacturer and consumer.
The technology was brilliantly simple:
Scratch-off labels with unique codes (one-time use, like phone cards)
SMS-based verification (works on any phone, no smartphone needed)
Central database hosted in the US (verifies codes instantly)
Immediate response via text message confirming authenticity
The beauty: it required zero infrastructure investment by consumers. No apps. No data plans. Just basic SMS, which worked everywhere mobile networks existed.
Cost per verification: a couple of US cents.
Ashifi funded the startup with personal savings, grants, and prize money from competitions. But mostly—customer revenue.
"Right off the bat, knowing it was not going to be easy to raise six-figure seed round funds in the US, we priced our solution to be sustainable, to meet our obligations and have a little gas left in the tank to fuel growth," Gogo explained. "By and large, customer revenue is the unsung hero when it comes to early-stage funding."
Chapter 5: The Nigerian Breakthrough
2010
Ashifi's breakthrough came through Professor Dora Akunyili, then director-general of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Akunyili had been waging war against counterfeit drugs since 2001. She'd implemented stricter importation regulations, trained pharmacists, and established testing facilities. But enforcement alone couldn't solve a problem this massive.
When Ashifi presented Sproxil, Akunyili immediately grasped its potential.
"As a result of her vision and advocacy to adopt technology to solve the issue of counterfeiting, the pharma companies felt comfortable going ahead with our solution, even though at the time it had never been used anywhere else," Gogo recalled.
After introductory meetings, Akunyili invited Sproxil to present to different stakeholder and trade groups across Nigeria.
In 2010, under NAFDAC's new director-general Dr. Paul Orhii, Nigeria officially launched the Mobile Authentication Services (MAS) scheme to combat counterfeit drugs.
Sproxil was selected as one of the MAS providers.
The pilot began with Glucophage—a popular diabetes medication distributed by Merck's Nigerian partner, Biofem.
The scheme focused on antimalarial and antibiotic medicines—the drugs most commonly counterfeited and most critical for public health.
Customers could SMS the code on a pack of Glucophage for free and immediately receive notification whether the product was authentic.
Within months, something remarkable happened: pharmaceutical companies using Sproxil started falling off Nigeria's "Top 10 Most Counterfeited Products" list.
"The agents spend a lot of time hauling in specific brands that counterfeiters like to target," Gogo explained, "but when these companies started using our service they started falling off the charts."
The counterfeiters moved to easier targets. Protection worked.
Chapter 6: The Growth Years
2010-2015
The pilot success triggered explosive growth.
Ashifi recalls achieving venture-style growth without venture capital: "We tripled revenue each year for the first two years, then nearly doubled it again each year for the subsequent two years. It was in line with how venture capital investors expect companies they fund to grow."
2011:
Acumen Fund invested $1.8 million
Sproxil launched operations in India
Kenya's Pharmacy and Poisons Board adopted similar text-message anti-counterfeiting systems
Sproxil expanded to Ghana
2012:
Over 1 million people in Africa had verified medicines using Sproxil
Partnership with Airtel (present in 17 African countries) to streamline SMS short code acquisition
Age 28, Ashifi was already changing public health infrastructure at scale
2013:
Fast Company named Sproxil the #7 Most Innovative Company in the World (beating Apple, Google, Pinterest)
#1 Most Innovative Company in Healthcare
Obama White House recognized Ashifi as an Immigrant Innovator "Champion of Change"
2014:
Schwab Foundation named Ashifi Social Entrepreneur of the Year
2015:
Fortune's 40 Under 40 list
Deutsche Bank provided seven-figure loan facility
The loan brought discipline: "Once you get access to loan capital, you have to start planning how you are going to pay it back," Gogo noted. Sproxil tapered aggressive growth and focused on profitability.
By 2015, Sproxil had operations across Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, India, and Pakistan.
Major pharmaceutical companies adopted the platform: Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and major Indian generic drug manufacturers.
Chapter 7: Beyond Pharmaceuticals
The $600 Billion Opportunity
Ashifi quickly realized the counterfeit problem extended far beyond medicine.
"There is an estimated $600 billion of counterfeit goods sold every year, out of which a third is in pharmaceuticals. $200 billion is a lot of money," he explained.
Sproxil expanded verification to:
Agrochemicals:
Counterfeit fertilizers and seeds were destroying crop yields
Kenya endorsed Sproxil as the mark of quality for agrochemicals
Automotive parts:
Fake brake pads causing accidents
Electrical cables causing house fires (one Kenyan client lost $3 million annually to counterfeits)
Consumer goods:
Even underwear (a global lingerie company became a client to combat counterfeit sales)
Sproxil evolved the product line:
Sproxil Defender (original MPA solution—product authentication)
Sproxil Champion (authentication + instant rewards/prizes)
Sproxil Ally (trade loyalty for distributors and retailers)
Sproxil Informer (track-and-trace for high-value products, alerting if products deviate from intended supply chain paths)
By 2021, Sproxil was custodian of over 3 billion unique digital codes for products on its platform.
Chapter 8: The Scale Challenge
What Captain Startup Observes
Scaling authentication technology across Africa and Asia wasn't just technical—it was deeply cultural and operational.
The Telecom Challenge: Ashifi had to negotiate with dozens of mobile operators across countries to secure SMS short codes. Each negotiation took months. The Airtel partnership solved this: one relationship unlocking 17 countries.
The Trust Challenge: Years of counterfeit drug scandals had made consumers cynical. Why would a scratch-off code be trustworthy? Ashifi and his teams traveled extensively, organizing town halls, collaborating with local influencers, deploying educational SMS campaigns.
The Counterfeiter Challenge: As Sproxil expanded, counterfeiters adapted. They tried replicating scratch-off labels, creating fake verification numbers, even setting up fake hotlines.
"We are not saying where [some of our offices] are at the moment," Gogo told reporters in 2013. "Because if we do, the counterfeiters start preparing."
The company had offices in Cambridge (Massachusetts), Bangalore, Mumbai, Nairobi, Accra, and "two other undisclosed locations."
The Economics Challenge: Pharmaceutical companies were cautious about adding costs to packaging. Regulators worried about disrupting existing distribution channels. Ashifi had to prove ROI through pilot programs, demonstrating that brand protection and consumer trust were worth cents per unit.
Chapter 9: The Human Impact
Stories From the Field
While 3 billion verifications represent scale, individual stories reveal impact.
Ashifi tested the concept early by distributing surveys with sample drugs and scratch-off panels to 1,000 people in Accra, Ghana's capital.
Only 413 respondents were aware of fake drugs in Ghana. Only 152 suspected they'd ever bought a fake drug.
The ignorance was the problem. Consumers didn't know they were at risk.
After Sproxil deployed in Nigeria, pharmacies reported fewer counterfeit-related disputes. Healthcare workers noted marked improvements in trust toward medicine dispensing points.
Government agencies cited Sproxil's data analytics in policy formulation and enforcement actions.
According to a 2012 TEDx Talk by Gogo, fake drugs that fail to treat serious illnesses like malaria and tuberculosis lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, mainly in developing nations.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported that counterfeit drugs could be responsible for up to 270,000 additional deaths per year in sub-Saharan Africa. In some parts of Africa, more than 30% of medicines sold were substandard or falsified.
Sproxil didn't eliminate the problem. But it created accountability where none existed before.
Chapter 10: Recognition and Expansion
The Awards That Matter
2013:
Patents for Humanity Award from US Department of Commerce (recognizing innovations solving global health challenges)
Fast Company #7 Most Innovative Company Worldwide
2013:
Obama White House Champion of Change (Immigrant Innovator category)
2014:
Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year
2015:
Fortune 40 Under 40
2018:
Whitman College Commencement Speaker (received honorary doctorate)
2020:
Dartmouth Investiture Alumni Speaker
Finalist for Global Business Hall of Fame (JA Worldwide)
Recognition Beyond Awards:
Former President Bill Clinton praised Gogo's work as "genuinely remarkable achievement."
Ashifi served on:
World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Social Innovation
World Economic Forum's Meta-Council on the Illicit Economy
He teaches:
Executive seminar at Columbia University
Course in New Business Ventures Technology Management at Columbia
He holds a US Patent for authentication technology.
Chapter 11: The Business Model
Building Sustainable Impact
Unlike pure nonprofits or pure commercial ventures, Sproxil operated as a hybrid social enterprise.
Revenue Model:
Pharmaceutical companies pay for pre-printed scratch-off labels or manufacturer-printed codes
Bundle price: a couple cents per unit (varies by market, analytics access, support options)
SMS costs negotiated with telecom operators (often discounted in exchange for customer engagement)
Impact Model:
Consumers verify for free
Manufacturers protect brands and gain supply chain visibility
Governments get enforcement data
Healthcare systems reduce fake drug burden
Profitability: By 2021, Gogo reported: "We have been able to nearly pay off all of our term debt and anticipate we will be able to do it this year."
The company created local jobs across Africa and Asia—sales, education, customer support roles—multiplying socio-economic benefits beyond verification.
Sproxil currently offers services in over 100 countries with teams in Africa, Asia, and America.
Chapter 12: The Cultural Builder Pattern
What This Story Reveals
Ashifi Gogo's journey follows the Cultural Builder pattern: founders who don't escape their heritage—they encode it.
Local Knowledge as Global Advantage: Growing up in Ghana, Ashifi understood that mobile infrastructure was Africa's superpower. While others saw "developing markets with poor infrastructure," he saw "regions with better mobile penetration than water access."
That inversion was the insight.
The Strike as Catalyst: The university professors' strike that delayed Ashifi's enrollment in Ghana forced the SAT decision. What looked like obstacle became opportunity—access to American liberal arts education that taught cross-disciplinary thinking.
Technical + Cultural Fluency: The scratch-off code wasn't just technology—it was familiar technology. Africans already used scratch-off cards for pre-paid phone credit. Sproxil repurposed known behavior for new purpose.
Patient Building Through Customer Revenue: Rather than chase venture capital, Ashifi priced for sustainability from day one. Customer revenue funded growth. By the time institutional capital arrived (Acumen, Deutsche Bank), Sproxil had already proven product-market fit at scale.
The Immigrant Advantage: "There is a certain credibility that comes with being a US-based business which transacts globally," Gogo explained. "Partners overseas believe American companies are generally well-resourced and know how to get deals done quickly."
Sproxil's Cambridge headquarters signaled legitimacy to African pharmaceutical companies and regulators. But the solution was built for Africa, by someone who understood Africa.
Epilogue: When Simple Technology Meets Complex Problems
There's a pattern in The Ledger of Grit that Ashifi exemplifies perfectly:
The best solutions to global problems often come from people who understand local constraints deeply enough to find universal approaches.
84 children died in Nigeria from poisoned teething syrup.
A Ghanaian PhD student 7,500 miles away—educated in mathematics, physics, and engineering, trained to think across disciplines—saw the tragedy and asked: What infrastructure already exists that nobody's using for this problem?
Mobile phones. SMS. Scratch-off codes.
Technologies that already worked. Already scaled. Already familiar.
The innovation wasn't inventing new technology. It was applying existing technology to a problem that killed hundreds of thousands annually.
Over 3 billion products verified. Operations in 100+ countries. Partnerships with Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Merck. Government endorsements across Africa and Asia.
All from scratch-off codes and text messages.
"The trickiest part for me is not the technology," Ashifi explained early on, "but getting pharmaceutical officials and government regulators to work together. Industry is always trying to get easier regulation, and regulators are always saying, 'Hey, we can shut you down.' But it turns out that in this case, everybody realizes that the one who loses the most, the one who could die, is the consumer. We're all here to keep the public safe."
That alignment—pharmaceutical companies, regulators, technology providers, and consumers all benefiting—created sustainable scale.
Today, Sproxil continues expanding. The counterfeit drug problem hasn't disappeared. But millions of people now have a way to verify what they're buying before they consume it.
A university strike in Ghana led to an American education. A Nigerian tragedy led to a scratch-off solution. And a simple text message became the difference between medicine and poison.
Captain Startup writes: "I've documented founders who built billion-dollar companies and changed industries. But Ashifi Gogo accomplished something more fundamental: he proved that solving life-or-death problems doesn't require inventing new technology—it requires understanding which technologies people already use, and applying them where they're needed most. The counterfeit drug industry is worth $200 billion annually. Ashifi didn't eliminate it. But he created accountability where none existed, and gave millions of people a fighting chance. That's not disruption. That's infrastructure for survival."
Build with intent. ⚓
Read more Cultural Builder stories at chaiandcode.shop
A Chai & Code Production
Sources:
How We Made It In Africa: "How this Ghanaian entrepreneur built a business that combats counterfeit products" (August 2021)
The Irish Times: "Gogo in a hurry to beat bogus drugs" (July 2013)
Whitman College: "Ashifi Gogo '05 to give 2018 Commencement address" (January 2018)
Whitman College: "Whitman welcomes Commencement Speaker Ashifi Gogo '05" (May 2018)
The Voix: "ASHIFI GOGO" (January 2016)
Wikipedia: "Ashifi Gogo" and "Sproxil"
The Lemelson Foundation: "Immigrant Entrepreneurs Shape America's Inventive and Economic Future" (March 2025)
Dartmouth Engineering: "Ashifi Gogo Th'09 Th'10" profile
IBTimes: "Entrepreneur journal: Ashifi Gogo, co-founder and CEO, Sproxil" (November 2012)
Dartmouth Medicine Magazine: "A high-tech solution to drug counterfeiting"
Face2Face Africa: "How this Ghanaian was inspired by tragedy to launch a business that helps people detect fake drugs" (December 2021)
GhanaWeb: "How this Ghanaian was inspired by tragedy to launch a business that helps detect fake drugs" (December 2021)
Sproxil: "Combating Counterfeit Drugs with Mobile Phones" case study (December 2021)
Comms MEA: "Airtel and Sproxil fight fake medicine in Africa" (September 2012)
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