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In July 2023, the Mayor of London announced the winners of the Poverty Prevention Challenge — a programme under Challenge LDN inviting technology startups to develop solutions tackling poverty across the capital. Mendee was one of seven companies selected, receiving £48,000 in total grant funding to build SiBot — an AI-powered information hub for refugees.
The Problem
London is home to over 130,000 refugees and asylum seekers. Approximately 70% are at risk of ending up in poverty. Many speak limited English, are unfamiliar with the NHS and legal aid system, and lack access to timely, accurate information in their own language. Existing support services are overstretched, underfunded, and rarely multilingual.
The Solution: SiBot
SiBot (Social Impact Bot) is a multilingual AI information hub built specifically for refugees and asylum seekers. It provides 24/7 access to verified information about asylum procedures, NHS registration, housing, benefits, employment, and legal rights — in English, Russian, Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Ukrainian.
The project had four core components:
- AI Chatbot — conversational AI trained on UK asylum and healthcare information, available in 7 languages
- Information Hub — comprehensive guides covering every stage of the asylum journey
- Community Network — peer support across Telegram and WhatsApp with over 2,000 members
- Video Content — YouTube walkthroughs on asylum interviews, appeals, and practical guidance
Grant Funding and Delivery
The GLA grant was delivered in two phases:
- Phase 1 (£5,000) — User research, persona development, and initial prototype design
- Phase 2 (£43,000) — Full development, launch, and 6-month delivery period
The project was delivered between August 2023 and January 2024, with 100% of milestones met and full reporting submitted to the GLA.
Results
- 197 web app users in the first month after launch
- 631 active chat participants during the delivery period
- 1,129 Telegram subscribers at project completion
- 8 refugee volunteers onboarded as community moderators
- 7 user personas developed through community research
What Happened Next
After the GLA project completed, the community continued to grow organically. By 2026, the Telegram community had expanded to over 2,000 members with more than 253,000 messages exchanged. StartNewLife.uk launched as a comprehensive multilingual information portal. Mendee CIC was formally incorporated as a Community Interest Company.
SiBot itself evolved into its second version — rebuilt on open-source AI infrastructure (Ollama, Open WebUI) running on dedicated hardware in Mendee’s London office. No external API costs. No data leaving the server. The grant funding approach shifted from paying for cloud infrastructure to investing in content, languages, and community outreach.
Press Coverage
The Challenge LDN 2023 win was covered by:
- London City Hall — official announcement of the winning companies
- Techerati — coverage of the £350K awarded to AI firms
- Cities Today — international coverage of the Challenge winners
- UKAuthority — analysis of the poverty prevention technology approaches
We are absolutely thrilled to be recognised as winners of the Poverty Prevention Challenge. This signifies an endorsement of our dedication towards social change.