Glowcheck wins Hatch grant to build a 'trust layer' for sexual health
What's the deal? Glowcheck, a UK-based digital sexual health verification platform founded by Ifeanyi "Ify" Umezulike, has secured grant funding from startup programme Hatch. The money will fund research, product refinement, and partnerships with healthcare providers.
What's the endgame? Glowcheck lets people keep a portable record of their sexual health tests, understand results, and — if they choose — share verified information with partners. It plans to work with clinics and laboratories to confirm the reliability of those results.
Why now? The grant marks the startup's shift from concept validation towards real-world testing. "Being accepted onto Hatch was one of the moments where building Glowcheck started to feel very real," Umezulike said, adding that the programme let him "learn from experts, sharpen the direction of the business and be around other founders."
The backstory: The idea came from a personal experience. Umezulike said he began questioning verbal assurances in sexual health conversations after watching a close friend's lifelong sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis get minimised by a partner.
That concern shaped a platform aimed at behavioural change — making routine testing and disclosure easier to discuss. "My dream for Glowcheck is much bigger than creating another digital health app," Umezulike said. "I want us to help make routine testing, verified information and honest sexual health conversations feel normal."
Umezulike brings a background in marketing, communications, and advocacy, which informs the startup's focus on user adoption, trust, and behavioural change.
The signal: Glowcheck's longer-term goal is to become what its founder calls a global trust layer around existing sexual health services — connecting testing, verified records, and disclosure to give individuals more control. The approach positions the startup as a complement to clinics and laboratories rather than a replacement.
Read more: vanguardngr.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
