• Senegalese entrepreneur Adama Kane founded JokkoSanté to improve access to medicines through a community-based exchange platform.
• The startup allows users to exchange unused medicines for points that reduce the cost of future prescriptions while limiting pharmaceutical waste.
• Kane has expanded his entrepreneurial portfolio into digital messaging services and the blue economy while holding a regulatory compliance role at Sonatel.

Senegalese telecommunications engineer Adama Kane has developed a technology-driven community pharmacy platform that aims to improve access to medicines while making pharmaceutical distribution more efficient across local communities.

Kane, a graduate of the Higher Multinational School of Telecommunications in Dakar, founded and serves as Chief Executive Officer of JokkoSanté, a startup that seeks to expand access to medicines through a digitally connected community pharmacy model.

Founded in 2014, JokkoSanté operates a solidarity-based medicine exchange system. Users deposit unused medicines in exchange for points, which they can later redeem for other treatments or use to reduce the cost of future prescriptions.

Beyond the citizen exchange model, the startup also incorporates an innovative cross-financing mechanism. Companies and partner organizations can directly finance medicine purchases for vulnerable populations. The platform tracks every contribution to ensure full transparency and allow donors to monitor the impact of their funding.

The initiative also addresses pharmaceutical waste. By improving the monitoring and redistribution of unopened medicine packages, JokkoSanté reduces material losses while promoting more responsible and sustainable consumption of healthcare products.

Alongside his work in digital health, Kane serves as Head of Regulatory Compliance Services in Sonatel's telecommunications business in Senegal. Kane has also diversified his entrepreneurial activities in recent years. In 2022, he founded USSD ACCESS, a company that provides internet-independent instant messaging services for governments and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The same year, Kane entered the blue economy by launching Ecospeche, a company that focuses on modernizing fisheries activities.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J. A de Berry Quenum