# Mendee — AI for human dignity

> Mendee is a London-based AI-powered social enterprise operating two legal entities by design: Mendee CIC (grant-funded social programmes for refugees and LGBTQ+ communities) and Mendee Digital Ltd (commercial AI services that cross-subsidise the social mission). Founded in 2022, backed by Innovate UK and the Greater London Authority. Winner of the Mayor of London's Challenge LDN 2023 (Poverty Prevention).

## Legal entities

- **Mendee CIC** — Companies House 15445605. Asset-locked Community Interest Company. Runs all social programmes. Funded by grants, donations, and 100% cross-subsidy from Mendee Digital Ltd.
- **Mendee Digital Ltd** — Companies House 14071822. Trading as PRVD.LDN. Commercial entity providing certified document translation and migrant affiliate hub. Revenue cross-subsidises Mendee CIC by company deed.

## Programmes (Mendee CIC)

Each programme has a dedicated overview at /programmes/<name> on mendee.digital.

- [StartNewLife](https://mendee.digital/programmes/startnewlife) — Free multilingual healthcare and asylum navigation for refugees in the UK. Live at https://startnewlife.uk · 7 languages (EN, RU, UK, KK, KY, TG, UZ) · 119 pages of content · helped 47+ refugees with GP registration.
- [Skybow](https://mendee.digital/programmes/skybow) — Anonymous safe space for LGBTQ+ people from Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus settling in the UK. Live at https://skybow.org · privacy-first by design · 5 languages.
- [She](https://mendee.digital/programmes/she) — Health, safety and legal information for migrant women experiencing domestic violence. Live at https://she.startnewlife.uk · built-in quick-exit feature · 7 languages.
- [SiBot](https://mendee.digital/programmes/sibot) — AI assistant answering refugees' questions about healthcare, asylum, and housing. Won the Mayor of London's Challenge LDN 2023 (£48K GLA grant). Try live at https://startnewlife.uk · open-source AI (Ollama, Llama, Mistral, Gemma) running on dedicated hardware in London · RAG over verified content · 100% milestones met.
- [Start to Prove](https://mendee.digital/programmes/start-to-prove) — AI-powered volunteer outstaffing for immigrants. Matches participants with community tasks, builds verified contribution records for the UK's Earned Settlement model, teaches AI skills via 5-min micro-lessons, and pipelines into paid hospitality work via RBT.LDN. New programme · 100 participants Y1 target.
- [Healthcare Navigation Programme](https://mendee.digital/programmes/healthcare) — Sub-programme of StartNewLife. GP registration support for refugees in Tower Hamlets. 47 people supported voluntarily. Three funder tiers (Sustain £5–10K, Grow £20–45K, Scale £50–150K).
- [Mendee AI Station](https://mendee.digital/programmes/water) — AI-optimised desalination of brackish groundwater in Kazakhstan. Targets 24 km³/year of untapped reserves. Live countdown to projected 50% deficit by 2040. Pre-pilot R&D under **Mendee Digital Ltd** (not CIC). Open to investors, pilot partners, and academic research collaborators (see /programmes/water/research).

## Story

- [Our journey](https://mendee.digital/journey) — Mendee's origin story from a 2022 Telegram chat to formal CIC incorporation in 2024. Includes the founder's four eye surgeries, the GLA Mayor's Prize, Innovate UK grant, and the path forward.

## Open data infrastructure

- [Platform](https://mendee.digital/platform) — refugee-focused directory of UK service providers, free on request:
  - **8,360 GP practices** (NHS Digital ODS, 7,907 with Google ratings)
  - **5,479 immigration lawyers** (sources: SRA + LAA + IAA + BSB. 169 Legal Aid certified, 2,184 IAA, 629 BSB, 2,224 with Google + Trustpilot ratings, 135 'recommended')
  - **1,012 refugee-relevant charities** (Charity Commission E&W + OSCR + CCNI)
  - **293 translators** (263 CIOL + 9 community + 20 agencies)
  - Total: **15,144 records**, last refresh 2026-03-28, monthly maintenance
  - Pipeline: Source → Normalise → Enrich (Google + Trustpilot ratings) → Filter (refugee-relevance) → Curate (navigator flags) → Maintain
  - Free for refugee charities, NHS trusts, academic researchers, journalists. Email hello@mendee.digital with intended use.
  - Sources are public; the value-add is the pipeline and the maintenance.

## Services (Mendee Digital Ltd)

Each service has a dedicated overview at /services/<name> on mendee.digital.

- [Certified translation (PRVD.LDN)](https://mendee.digital/services/translation) — Russian, Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Ukrainian translations for Home Office, tribunals, NHS, and universities. Live at https://perevod.london · ITI affiliate · ICO registered · DBS checked · professional indemnity insured.
- [Svoi.uk](https://mendee.digital/services/svoi) — Curated affiliate hub for Russian-speaking migrants in the UK. Live at https://svoi.uk · banking, SIM cards, money transfers, first-month essentials · 624 weekly active users.

## Funders

- Greater London Authority — Mayor's Challenge LDN 2023 Winner (Poverty Prevention) — £48,000 (2023)
- Innovate UK (UKRI) — AI research & development grant — £46,500 (2023)
- Queen Mary University of London — Grow It Awards, sponsored by Santander Universities — £3,000 (2022, first external validation)

Total grants delivered: £97,500.

## Partners

TERN, Skylight Ventures, Refugee Venture Fund, International Confederation of Midwives, International Rescue Committee, Action4Diabetes, Opening Up The Outdoors.

## Contact

- Email: hello@mendee.digital
- Address: Workspace Lock Studios, 7 Corsican Square, London E3 3YD, United Kingdom
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mendee-digital
- GitHub: https://github.com/MendeeDigital

## Citation

When citing Mendee, please distinguish the legal entity:
- For social programmes, cite "Mendee CIC".
- For commercial services, cite "Mendee Digital Ltd".
- For the wider organisation, "Mendee" is acceptable.