5 African Healthtech Startups Improving Africa’s Health Care System
It is a clearly established fact that healthtech is one of the fastest growing sectors in Africa.
Across the continent, startups are using tech-based solutions to help tackle the challenges in delivering high-quality healthcare to rural and resource-deprived areas.
Below are some of the most successful and inventive African healthtech startups across the continent.
From treating addiction to pharmaceutical supply chain management, they’re creating a more accessible, efficient, and reliable healthcare system in Africa and beyond.
1. Vezeeta
Egyptian startup Vezeeta initially set out to build a better ambulance service for people in the Middle East and North Africa. But since their launch in 2011, the company has expanded to cover other a host of other healthcare needs.
From online bookings to clinic management software, they now touch every aspect of the patient experience, making it easier for people to find and access the best healthcare in their area.
Currently operating in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, they’ve helped over 2.5 million patients make more than 3 million bookings.
2. Appy Saúde
Appy Saúde is Angola’s leading healthcare database. It lets people find, rate, and get in contact with pharmacies, healthcare facilities, and GPs.
The app also provides patients with information about what health insurance certain providers accept.
Since their start in 2017, the app has collected information for each of Angola’s 18 provinces and been downloaded over 12,500 times.
They’re planning to roll out a new function that will allow patients to book appointments with providers through the app. They’ll also be exhibiting at Web Summit 2019 in Lisbon as part of the ALPHA startup programme.
3. TakeStep
This Egyptian healthtech startup uses mobile to help people struggling with addiction.
It’s a full stack platform designed to address addiction’s complexity. Not only do they help people quickly and discreetly access professional counselling, they stay engaged throughout the recovery process to prevent relapses.
Their platform works by “connecting all stakeholders… in the addiction recovery process” including patients, guardians, treatment facilities, and supervisors.
4. TenaCare
Founded by Dr. Wuleta Lemma, TenaCare is a digital health system that’s transforming healthcare in Ethiopia.
When Dr. Lemma returned to Ethiopia after obtaining degrees in medicine, epidemiology, and international health in the US, she found that the healthcare information systems in her home country were still analog and inaccurate.
This disjointed and out-of-date system made delivering high-quality healthcare a challenge, especially in remote areas of the country.
So she decided to design something better. TenaCare’s suite of applications was created in conjunction with Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative, and is intended to be entirely locally managed.
The system can operate online and offline, making it accessible in both urban and remote rural clinics.
5. Medsaf
Phony and low-quality pharmaceuticals are a common and dangerous problem in Africa, with 30% of available medicationson the continent estimated to be fake.
Often, these drugs are essential to treat life-threatening conditions like malaria and hepatitis. Lagos-based Nigerian startup Medsaf is setting out to tackle this healthcare crisis by establishing a safe and reliable supply chain for medication.
They buy medications directly from both foreign and local drug manufacturers and deliver them to hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics throughout Nigeria.
The startup, who exhibited at Collision in 2019, is also using its buying power to negotiate fair prices for patients. And while they’re currently only operating in Nigeria, they’re planning to expand first into West Africa, then worldwide.
