After four years of witnessing the pains of women in a rural area where he was the head doctor, he created a healthtech to facilitate breast and cervical cancer screening. 

Conrad Tankou (photo) is a Cameroonian entrepreneur and founder of heathtech startup Global Innovation and Creativity Space (GIC Space). Through GIC Space (founded in 2018), he developed GICMED, a project aimed at facilitating remote cervical and breast cancer screening.  

“GICMED offers cutting edge and cost-effective MedTech and Telemedicine Innovations, enabling poor, remote, and rural communities with the greatest need to enjoy affordable and accessible healthcare,” the startup explains on its website. Indeed, with its services and products, notably breast and cervical cancer screening, smart speculum, fine needle biopsy syringe adapter, and digital pathology center, it allows patients to remotely and quickly get screened wherever they are. It also allows doctors to seek their colleagues’ contributions. 

With GICMED, Conrad wants to help women living in remote areas quickly access cervical and breast cancer screening. His wish is to see the solution deployed in every village in Cameroon and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

For his works, the P.h.D (in biomedical science in 2013) holder has earned several national and international awards and recognitions.  For instance, through GICMED, he won Cameroon's 2019 Startup of the Year award. Then, a year later, he won the Next Einstein Forum Challenge in Kigali. In 2021, GICMED was the winner of the Africa Young Innovators for Health Award presented by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Speak Up Africa.

Before GIC Space, Conrad Tankou had co-founded (with his compatriot Alain Nteff) GiftedMom, in 2013, to improve maternal and child health. From 2014 to 2018, he was the head doctor of Bambalang  Medical center, in North-West Cameroon. 

Melchior Koba

we are tech Africa 

Tech africa 

In Africa, ICTs have proven their worth in resolving key issues in almost every sector, including the health sector. By using their tools, Senegalese authorities want to improve healthcare. 

African genomics startup 54Gene and Senegal will soon launch a program aimed at assembling the reference genome of the Senegalese population. In that regard, the startup signed, Tuesday (May 24), a memorandum of understanding with the Senegal Academy of Science and Technology (ANSTS) and Cheikh Anta Diop University’s department of human genetics. 

The program dubbed SEN-GENOME is scheduled to start in July 2022 and initial results are expected for December 2023. Based on results from the genomic study of the country’s main ethnolinguistic groups, it will help lay the foundation of precision medicine, and identify the hereditary risk factors of some diseases like cancer, heart diseases, and hereditary diseases. It will also allow better health surveillance for the Senegalese population. 

For Prof. Aynina Cisse, ANSTS representative during the signing ceremony, SEN-GENOME is launched because researchers noticed that “the reference human genome currently used is not representative of the genetic variety of Africans as a whole and Senegal in particular.”  

In that regard, the program will establish a reference genome reflecting the genetic diversity of the Senegalese population. The reference genome assembled will be used to improve the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of the most common diseases. It will also allow anthropologists to better understand communities’  socio-cultural history.

“Modern medicine will rely on every individual's gene pool. SEN-GENOME, which is the first reference genome project in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa, will help initiate a genomic medicine plan in Senegal,” explained Prof. Rokhaya Ndiaye Diallo, head of Cheikh Anta Diop University’s department of human genetics.

"Africa has the most genetically diverse population but, those populations are poorly represented in international genomic databases.  SEN-GENOME will help fill this gap and allow Senegal further precision medicine,” commented Dr. Abasi Ene Obong, 54Gene founder and CEO.   

Muriel Edjo

In Africa, healthcare access is still limited despite the reforms and projects implemented by governments. To address the situation, private firms, and startups are stepping in. 

Canadian firm UniDoc Health announced Wednesday (May 11), an agreement with  Northern Pacific Global Investment Services Limited to offer telehealth services in Nigeria. 

Under the agreement, UniDoc Health will lease some telehealth equipment and license software to allow Northern Pacific to offer the intended services in the target country. The software to be licensed include UniDoc Health’s proprietary solution VCSM which integrates “a range of physical products, web-based services, and analytical tools, along with access to the Company’s developing network of healthcare providers, pharmacies, and hospitals.” 

“UniDoc’s goal is to make health care accessible to everyone. We are excited to work with our Partner to bring our Virtual Care Solutions Model to the people of Nigeria. Our kiosks will help to allow our Partner’s network of health care professionals to reach patients in remote locations throughout the country,” said UniDoc CEO Antonio Baldassare. 

As is the case in several African countries, Nigeria’s medical density is below WHO recommendations.  The UN Agency recommends at least 2.3 medical staff per thousand residents. However, according to data published by the World Bank in 2018, Nigeria’s density is 0.4 doctors per 1,000 residents. The agreement between UniDoc Health and Northern Pacific offers an innovative solution to the problem by allowing the population living in remote areas access to healthcare, through the VCSM. During the five-year leasing period, up to 1 million patient subscribers will be taken care of. 

Adoni Conrad Quenum

In Nigeria, only 7 million out of the estimated 200 million population is subscribed to a health insurance policy. Of the 7 million, 98% were enrolled by their employees. A local startup wants to change that situation by leveraging technology. 

In 2019, Nigerian tech entrepreneur Kayode Odeyinde founded NucleusIS, a startup that wants to leverage technology for universal healthcare in Nigeria.  Through its eponymous digital platform, the startup allows individuals and firms to subscribe to health insurance policies. 

It offers users access to hundreds of subscription plans created by dozens of insurance firms. The information to be provided for registration and subscription depends on the user’s insured and employment status as well as location.   

Recently, NucleusIs introduced a plan allowing users to buy health insurance on credit. “NucleusIS will continue to look for ways to use technology and financial initiatives to drive health insurance adoption across the continent. (...) The platform is one of the many initiatives the company will be rolling out to make health insurance truly accessible and affordable to the average person,” indicated its head of Communication Godwin Awuya.

The startup currently claims more than 200,00 health insurance policies sold and 600 corporate clients managed. “We want to provide about 180,000 touchpoints across the country and add over 20 million people to the insurance net annually,” explained Odeyinde in 2021. The startup is already active in Nigeria and Ghana but it plans to enter new African markets in the next three years.  

Adoni Conrad Quenum

In Africa, healthcare access remains a major challenge despite the numerous e-health solutions being developed. The issue is mainly caused by financial problems. The low-cost insurance policy being developed by the two partners aims to address that situation. 

Kenyan fintech Power Financial Wellness (PFW) recently announced a partnership with insurtech Turaco. According to a release dated April 26, the partnership aims to offer low-cost insurance -as low as US$2 monthly subscriptions- to African gig and salaried workers.

“Power is dedicated to providing a marketplace of financial services to working individuals across Africa. With Turaco, we now have a partner that helps digitize tailor-made insurance offerings. With Power’s ability to finance premiums and collect from workers, this partnership will help scale the delivery of affordable insurance to working individuals in Kenya and beyond,” commented PFW CEO Brian Dempsey.  

PFW clients can subscribe to the insurance policies once Turaco’s API is integrated into the fintech’s digital platforms. PFW offers payment and loan services (insurance services will soon start with the API integration). As for Turaco, it offers low-cost claim settlement packages in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and the United States of America.  

In addition to health insurance, PFW clients have access to other insurtech products. These include credit life insurance, disability, theft, and a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient insurance. 

Some African countries have a national health insurance scheme but only a small portion of the population is covered. According to the World Health Organization, while 91% of the population in Rwanda is covered by the national health insurance scheme, 33% is covered in Ghana and only 3% in Nigeria

Adoni Conrad Quenum

we are tech Africa

In Africa, doctor density is below the World Health Organization’s recommendations. To alleviate the issue, startups are developing local e-health solutions. 

Waspito is an e-health platform set up by a Cameroonian start-up that connects patients with doctors for live video consultations. Founded in 2020, by Jean Lobé Lobé (photo), Waspito successfully completed a US$2.7 million funding round, in March 2022, to support its growth and expand into Côte d’Ivoire. The seed fund was contributed by notable investors like Launch Africa Ventures, Newtown Partners, and Orange Ventures.

“We are proud of the pool of investors we were able to get on this round. Their experience and network will add value to our team as we continue this journey to solving Africa’s health care accessibility and affordability problem,” said Jean Lobé Lobé commending the investment. 

According to the founder and CEO, Waspito plans to enter a dozen countries in the next four years. 

The platform offers its services through internet but it also has a mobile app available on PlayStore and AppStore. Users can book consultations with doctors and access a list of available pharmacists and laboratories. The aim is to allow users to quickly get medication or even get them delivered to their doorsteps and perform lab tests after the online consultations. It also has a forum managed by doctors. Through that forum, users can anonymously submit their problems to get help from doctors.  

Currently, the platform claims more than 15,000 patients served. In 2020, it was one of the seven winners of Orange Ventures' MEA Seed Challenge. 

Adoni Conrad Quenum

Her startup was founded to save Egyptians from her difficult experiences. Combining her digital marketing skills with her passion to serve the population, she developed a mobile app used by 75,000 people in Egypt. 

Doaa Aref (photo) is the co-founder and CEO of Chefaa, a healthcare startup she launched with Rasha Radi in 2017. Chefaa allows users to discuss with pharmacists, through a mobile app available on AppStore and Playstore, scan their medical prescriptions to order the drugs they want to buy, and get them delivered to their doorsteps.  

Currently, the startup claims 75,000 users in Egypt. To develop its services and enter new markets, Doaa Aref launched a fundraising operation that brought in several investors including Newtown Partners, Global Brain, and GMS Capital Partners. The amount raised was not disclosed but Doaa Aref is confident about the impact the funds would have on Chefaa. 

 “I believe this venture round is pivotal not because it will only help us scale our validated business models, but because it will also help us capitalize on untapped market opportunities. We are confident Chefaa will dominate over a much larger market share in the next two years,” she said. 

Chefaa was created to save users from the tribulations Doaa Aref went through at one point in her life. Indeed, when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, she had a hard time traveling to get her medications, as she was living alone, and even accurately following the treatment plan. 

"I passed through many problems, I really didn’t know how to handle medicine. And when I got better and started to do some market research I found out that everyone literally has these problems. We need a solution. That’s how I got the idea for Chefaa," she explained. 

No one would have guessed Doaa Aref would go into the healthtech industry. In 2008, she graduated from Tanta University with a BSc in Agricultural Sciences. In 2010, she enrolled in Alexandria University where she got her diploma in quality control in 2012. In 2013, she got her  MBA in business Administration and Management from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Shipping. Despite her various diplomas, she was more attracted to the marketing world.  

From 2006 to 2012, all through her university studies, she held various marketing positions for firms like  Mega Trade Co, Radwty For Advertising Services, Just4arab E-Magazine, and Maven Agency For Advertising Services. In 2015, she decided to get proper digital marketing training with the Digital Marketing Training Center, where she got a social media diploma. Up till her sickness and subsequent creation of Chefaa, she held digital marketing positions with Seven Agency, Mnbaa, Speakol, and Stylish Eve, among others. 

Melchior Koba

Dumisani Kaliati has been working since 2015 to improve the living conditions of rural populations in Malawi. This year, his expertise helped the UNICEF speed up disaster assessment and assistance planning. 

Dumisani Kaliati (photo) is an Information Science and Technology graduate from the University of Malawi. An experienced hardware and software developer and computer-aided designer, he founded MicroMek, a drone manufacturing startup at the age of 21.  To manufacture its drones, MicroMek uses 3D printed parts and recycled materials. Dumisani Kaliati is also the co-founder of Peza, a platform connecting informal service providers with potential clients. 

He got the MicroMek idea in the third year of his information science and technology study after noticing how difficult it was for people living in remote areas to access healthcare institutions. He then developed a medication reminder, which was still not addressing the challenges faced by rural populations. In 2016, while the Malawian government was vulgarizing drone usage, he decided to leverage the technology to address the challenges identified. 

In 2017, he was trained on how to use drones during a workshop organized by UNICEF and Virginia Tech University. Since then,  in collaboration with Virginia Tech University's Unmanned Systems Lab, he has been developing low-cost drones for remote delivery.  Called EcoSoar, the drones are designed to deliver drugs and medicines, blood samples, and vaccines to hospitals. Beyond facilitating access to healthcare, the startup also helps reduce the times needed for the delivery of diagnostics, vaccines, and medications. It also manufactures drones for environmental and aerial data collection.  

According to Dumisani Kaliati, the sensing drones can travel up to 30 km for aerial mapping, while the ambulance drones can carry 1 kg of medicines and samples.  Depending on the purpose, their production cost averages US$350 and $430 per unit.  Currently, the entrepreneur is working on drones that can fly longer distances and carry up to 6 kg of medicine and other health products.

In February 2022, Dumisani Kaliati's expertise was solicited by the UNICEF for the assessment of damages caused by Tropical Cyclone Ana in late January. The disaster wreaked havoc in Southern Malawi causing huge human, material, and agricultural losses.  

Using his drones, the entrepreneur sped up the assessment, ultimately assisting in the planning of response activities. 

With MicroMek, he garnered several awards, including the Malwai ICT Innovation Award's Top Entrepreneurship category in 2017. A year later, he was selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, where he had the opportunity to train in business and entrepreneurship at Northwestern University in Evanston, USA. In late March 2022, he took part in the Global Entrepreneurship Congress that brings together entrepreneurs from over 170 countries. The congress was an opportunity for Dumisani Kaliati to showcase Malawian expertise to the world. 

Aïsha Moyouzame  

In Africa, medical density is currently below the World Health Organization’s recommendations. In recent years, startups have sprung up using technology to fill health offers. 

E-health platform Altibbi will introduce drug delivery and virtual consultation services in Egypt. The move follows the announcement, on March 28, 2022, of a successful US$44 million series B round led by investors like Foundation Holdings and Hikma Ventures. 

The health tech founded in 2008, in Jordan, aims to digitalize the whole medical procedure allowing users to get checked by physicians, receive prescriptions, and lab test interpretations online. It wants to capitalize on the low competition in the market due to tough regulations. 

“The regulatory system is an ally of ours as, after so many years, we have managed to crack it. We are actually today the most licensed digital health company in the Arab world (...)We’re licensed in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. We’re working with the government as part of a round table to regulate telehealth and digital health platforms,” says Jalil Allabadi (Photo, left), founder and CEO of Altibbi.  

In addition to its web platform, Altibbi has a mobile app, available on App Store, Play Store, and AppGallery. To access the over 10,000 doctors available daily on the platform, users must register on the platform, then log in using their phone numbers and a verification code. In 2013, Altibbi received the top prize in the health category during the Arab E-Content Award in Bahrain.

Adoni Conrad Quenum

French telecom group Orange announced, on Wednesday, the launch of a new telemedicine service. Dubbed DabaDoc Consult, it is the outcome of a partnership between the French telecom group and DabaDoc, the Moroccan start-up specializing in medical appointment management.

Launched in Morocco in March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was raging, DabaDoc virtual medical consultation booking will expand into all of the Orange African markets with DabaDoc Consult.

With DabaDoc Consult, the African diaspora can book medical consultations for their loved ones residing in their home countries. For that purpose, a "simple and fluid process was developed jointly by the DabaDoc and Orange Link teams," Orange group explains.

"The customer, from the diaspora, wishing to offer a DabaDoc Consult must connect to the Orange ‘Country Transfer’ platform, choose the type of consultation and pay with his/her bank card. The beneficiary will instantly receive a code to pay for the virtual consultation," it adds.

DabaDoc was created by Zineb Drissi Kaitouni (photo) and Driss Drissi Kaitouni. The mobile platform launched in 2014 has already facilitated access to health specialists for thousands of people in Morocco,  Tunisia, and Algeria.

To book an appointment with a health specialist through DabaDoc, the requester must first register on the platform, then select the type of medical service being requested, fill in the city, select the health specialist close to the selected area, and choose a time slot.  Once the appointment is validated, a confirmation message indicating the date and time of the appointment is sent by email and SMS to the requester.

In May 2015, the platform became fee-based for health professionals who would like to offer their services. According to Zineb Drissi Kaitouni, the subscription fees are "450 dirhams [122.5 USD] for one month, 300 dirhams/month for a 3-month subscription, and 225 dirhams/month for one year" subscription.

In April 2021, Orange Africa and the Middle East acquired a stake in the start-up through a fundraising operation. The telecom company immediately contributed its technological expertise and payment solutions to develop digital solutions that quickly proved beneficial for the entire African healthcare ecosystem.

DabaDoc, available in French and Arabic, has already received numerous awards such as the third prize for the best start-up in Morocco at Seedstars World in May 2014. It also won the top prize for  GIS, a competition organized by the US Department of State in October 2014.

In 2016, its co-founder Zineb Drissi Kaitouni was named one of the top three female entrepreneurs in Africa.

Adoni Conrad Quenum