vice president - Afrikan Heroes

Africa’s Most Funded Healthtech Startup Vezeeta Launches In Kenya

November 1, 2020

Vezeeta has come to Kenya, its first expansion into sub-Saharan Africa. The Middle East and North Africa e-health startup has expanded to the east African country by launching an app to help Kenyans access doctors from their smartphones.

*Nana Frimpong, Vice President, Africa, Vezeeta*

“Through our App and website, Kenyans will be able to access expert medical advice from the safety of their homes and receive professional guidance on identifying and dealing with COVID-19, without risking exposure,” said Nana Frimpong, Vice President, Africa, Vezeeta.

“As COVID-19 outbreak continues to present complex healthcare challenges to the public, we see our role and responsibility as a health-tech leader and trusted partner to ensure that the well-being and health of our patients remain uninterrupted,” noted Mr. Frimpong.

Here Is What You Need To Know

According to Nana Frimpong, Vice President, Africa, Vezeeta, the platform will provide Kenyans with an opportunity to access doctors across various disciplines on their terms.
Currently, the app has over 30 speciality areas that range from chest and respiratory, dentistry, dermatology, neurology, orthopedics and ENT among others with medical experts all registered under the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council.
“We believe that through this initiative, we are supporting not only the Government of Kenya but also empowering Kenyans to make more informed decisions on their healthcare choices and improve access to doctors in general,” added Mr Frimpong.
With a global network of 30000 locally licensed doctors across 41 medical specialities, Vezeeta is present in 5 other countries — Nigeria, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

*Chart 1: Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, percentage funding to African healthcare startups has been low. All data are as adapted from Partech Africa reports for the years considered.*

What The Startup Vezeeta Does

Vezeeta has grown to become a mainstream digital leader of healthtech solutions, enabling patients to search, book and review the best doctors and medical services in just one minute. Currently operating in 50 cities across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon, the platform generates 4 million annual appointments, tripling year over year.

With the support of STV in 2018, Vezeeta was able to bolster its expansion plans primarily in Saudi Arabia.

“Leveraging our technology, we have helped patients tap into the power of choice, and the power of information, to access the kind of healthcare that our users deserve. We will continue to cater to local healthrelated pains while expanding our product portfolio to many more markets,” added Barsoum.

These growth plans underline the company’s commitment to creating value for patients and healthcare providers in emerging markets, by empowering them with data, ease of access and affordable solutions in healthcare.

“At Vezeeta, our vision is to make healthcare accessible, affordable and of better quality for all patients. This new development reaffirms the strength of our business, which continues to put patients at the heart of what we do,” said Mohammad ElMougi, Chief Product Officer, Platform, Vezeeta. “For this very purpose, we are aggressively growing our R&D team to reinvent the patient’s end-to-end journey,” he added.

“Doctors’ consultations and medication deliveries are key points of interests in healthcare. Medications alone account for 47 percent of the private healthcare opportunity, making ePharmacy a very exciting product,” explained Maha Melhem, VP of ePharmacy. “By providing a fully digitized pharmaceutical experience, we are able to eliminate the many middlemen that not only slow down the process but also hinder patients’ experience. Our multi-service ePharmacy channel is equipped to offer auto-refill services, medication reminders, seamless same-day deliveries and hassle-free secure online payments to all users, among other essential healthcare services,” she added.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Celebrating Africa’s Doyen Corporate Banking; Amr Kamel

July 27, 2019

Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Banking of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mr. Amr Kamel would be a credible chronicler of the advent and sustained the trajectory of the progress of Africa’s premier trade finance institution, having been at the Bank for all but two of its 26 years of existence.

Little wonder then, that Mr. Kamel currently oversees the Bank’s origination and business development, including Client Relations, Project Finance, Export Development, Syndication and Agency, Trade Finance, Guarantees, and Specialized Finance as well as Advisory and Capital Market departments. His experience spans many banking functions, including structured trade finance, documentary credits, operations, loan administration and agency, treasury, marketing, and business development.

For one who believes that more African entrepreneurs must be enabled to handle and benefit from businesses run within the continent, Mr. Kamel is leading the Bank’s team of business development experts to get as many as 700 commercial banks to provide financial services to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Everyone agrees that SMEs are the true drivers of growth and employment in developing economies and Kamel believes that if Afreximbank’s services reach more of this category of businesses by this year’s end, the Bank’s mandate of promoting, financing, promoting and expanding intra-and-extra-African trade would be met as its founding fathers expect.

The goal for the teeming small businesses in Africa is to have access to finance, which traditional commercial banks and their international partners have denied them and continued to make inaccessible as global uncertainties rock the international financial landscape. The Bank hopes to pump $25 billion into the market to support intra-African trade in the five-year period ending 2021.

Already, according to Mr. Kamel, Afreximbank is helping the continent to survive the ongoing global trade war through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, especially now that it is set for the launch of its operational phase. The inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair held last year in Cairo, Egypt attempted to connect buyers and sellers on the continent as never before.

Mr. Kamel hopes that the biennial event will grow to become a living bazaar for building long-term relationship among Africa’s businesses and entrepreneurs. Mr. Kamel already looks forward to the expansion of the fair and the buy-in of more businesses in the coming years. Mr. Kamel’s managerial acumen has been largely influenced by his academic and professional background. He is an Economics graduate of the American University of Cairo and holder of an MBA in Financial Management from City University, New York.

He started his banking career in 1985, working variously for Bank of Credit and Commerce, Bank of America, and Chemical Bank, before joining Afreximbank in 1995 as a Senior Operations Associate. Mr. Kamel then progressed through the ranks to the position of Director, Banking Operations in January 2011 before he was promoted to his current position in 2016. Indeed, based on Mr. Kamel’s vast experience in the financial sector, some refer to him as the Doyen of corporate banking.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Afrikan Heroes

Tag: vice president

Africa’s Most Funded Healthtech Startup Vezeeta Launches In Kenya

Here Is What You Need To Know

What The Startup Vezeeta Does

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Celebrating Africa’s Doyen Corporate Banking; Amr Kamel

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/