I grew up in Nigeria where you have to be well off to own a landline. To own a mobile phone, you need to be a “Big Man”. To own two mobile phones was a scene from the movies!
Fast-forward to 2016. The number of mobile handsets is higher than that of toilets. The highest and the lowest in society own smartphones. It is apparent now that Mobile will be key in the mission to make healthcare available to as many as possible in Africa. Mind you, Africa is not a country!
After all said and done, health is wealth is a maxim that resonates today across the world. As we are gripped with the news of Zika, the lingering presence of Ebola, the ongoing danger of diabetes and the almighty scare of HIV/AIDS. It sounds like a prelude to a horror movie.
Key Motivating Factors
- Most don’t know what’s wrong with their health
- Avoidable deaths from preventable situations
We can reach out to most people on the continent of Africa via mobile. The following bridge currently exists
- Google Translate now has Afrikaans, Somali, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Swahili, Chichewa, Malagasy, Sesotho and Zulu
- Google Translate is open source
- Medical and Marketing network on the ground in a few African countries.
The private sector and investor community are increasing their presence in the healthcare sector on the continent. There are now multiple health-focused private equity funds investing between $70-100 million solely in Africa. McKinsey expects the African healthcare market to grow to $35 Billion this year.
Reports issued by consultancies
- The population is ageing even in Africa.
- Increasing demand for simple online healthcare solutions (private sector).
- Limited market for well-being solutions (mainly western ex-pats, some local upper middle class) with the exemption of South Africa.
- The private sector will play a bigger role also in the future in organising healthcare services
What Now?
I am pulling together resources to impact Africa for good. I am hosting the 1st ever Africa Innovation Breakfast on the 20th of February; between 9 am and 11:30 am. I will be going into more detail about all the innovation initiatives.
Email [email protected] or call me directly on +44 203 097 1718 for more details.
Published on 2016-02-10 08:22
