Personal loss inspires creation of Check Me

Patrica Raffaele

Feb 6, 2026

The loss of Yuyun Francis Berinyuy's sister to breast cancer inspired him and co-founder Apoh Prince Eldrige to create Check Me Ltd. Berinyuy, an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon University Africa, and his co-founder created the AI-based app, which is designed to promote early detection of breast cancer through ultrasound. Check Me is incubated in Carnegie Mellon University Africa's Innovation Hub.

The app assists women in accessing mammograms and diagnostic services, provides awareness and education, and builds a community for those diagnosed with breast cancer. Check Me was founded during Berinyuy's time in the master’s in information technology program at CMU-Africa.

Through the Innovation Hub, the startup received $50,000 USD in funding as well as other resources including access to mentors, educational materials, and office space.

From the start, Berinyuy has engaged the CMU-Africa community in his passion for breast health awareness. When he arrived at CMU-Africa as a new student, he hosted a breast health awareness day. "I was really supported by CMU-Africa," he said. "They supported me with t-shirts, food, and putting all the resources together that I needed that day. CMU-Africa fully supported the program," he said.

In his second year at CMU-Africa, he was invited to present Check Me in Switzerland at the annual World Summit of Information Technology Awards (WSIS) organized by the International Telecommunications Union. CheckMe won the prize in the e-health category.

  • A man presenting to a group of people
    Check Me promotes breast cancer awareness
  • A man holding a microphone in front of a Africa Health Collaboration banner
    Gaining recognition of startup Check Me
  • A man talking to another man
    Yuyun Francis share information about Check Me
  • A award indicating Check Me is a winner with a trophy
    World Summit on the Information Society recognizes Check Me
  • A woman sitting in a chair on a panel talking
    Raising awareness of breast cancer

    • Check Me is now in a more challenging phase of development, Berinyuy said. The current focus is on getting the AI and the hardware to work together. "The AI model is working. We are trying to connect it to our own hardware system to upload ultrasound images because the goal is to deploy CheckMe in remote areas, starting with clinics in Rwanda and Cameroon," he said. "We are not replacing mammography, but want to provide a way for early detection."

    His goals are to raise at least $500,000 for Check Me, test breast cancer screening with clinics, and have Check Me clinically approved. He presented Check Me at CMU's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship’s startup week and received positive feedback from participants.

    CMU-Africa and CMU are already a big part of the success of Check Me. I had zero money, and they still supported CheckMe. I'm very grateful to every CMU staff member that supported me.

    Yuyun Francis Berinyuy, alumnus, CMU-Africa

    "I believe that CMU-Africa and CMU in general are going to be a big part of the success of CheckMe," he said. "I owe them a lot of gratitude. They took a bet on me. I had zero funds, zero money, and they still supported Check Me. I'm very grateful to every CMU staff member that supported me while I was there. I think they did an amazing job."