12 September 2008
As a new medical aid service provider, doubts were cast over the capacity of Itekanele Health Scheme, given the hoarding of business by established companies in the industry.
But after a positive takeoff, Itekanele's Managing Director Solly Reikeletseng radiates confidence and says they will go the whole hog and have set themselves an ambitious target of one million members. Mmegi Correspondent MQONDISI DUBE spoke with him recently
Mmegi: Briefly tell us about Itekanele?
Solly Reikeletseng: Itekanele Health Scheme is a medical aid service provider for anyone regardless of age and socio-economic status. We are about providing solutions on health issues to anyone in Botswana.
Mmegi: When did you start your operations?
Reikeletseng: We started operating in 2005 with only one office in Gaborone. We now have six offices strategically located around the country. In terms of growth, we have expanded to over 25 000 members. This is significant because when we started, nobody thought medical aid could be made affordable. We have broken that barrier. We have a staff complement of 27 and a network of 100 health professionals all over the country.
Mmegi: People might ask, why did you decide on venturing into this industry?
Reikeletseng: I got worried when I used to work for Med Rescue and I learnt that only 90 000 people out of 1.7 million in Botswana were on medical aid. That's not good statistics. What happens to the rest? People who did not have medical aid cited cost as the issue. That is why we came up with a convenient product: our goal is to register the one-millionth person!
Mmegi: There were doubting Thomases who did not believe you would last the distance. How did you manage to dispel such lack of confidence in you?
Reikeletseng: We knew we had a good product and that what we were doing was workable. Some people didn't even give us three months, then they reviewed it to six months, and then to a year! But we have come this far with increasing strength, and we always knew that we could and would do it.
Mmegi: You are up against established service providers in the industry. Tell us about the competition.
Reikeletseng: Competition is very steep. As a citizen business, and without good financing in the beginning, it was difficult having to deal with giants who have millions of pula, millions of investment and hundreds of staff. Coming in without much in human and financial resources was not easy. We figured that what we needed was to stay strong and get one individual at a time. A major issue was that some of the established companies had corporate support, some had massive government support, and some had both when we had nothing! Hence we valued - immeasurably so - the individual customers that came knocking at our door. We always will, and we believe it is now time for people to look at us with new respect. It is coming.
Mmegi: What does Itekanele's determination mean for other citizen-owned businesses starting in a harsh environment?
Reikeletseng: I would say to them, don't concentrate on people telling you that it won't work; don't concentrate on people not giving you financing because they do not believe in your project. Just do with what you have to do to ensure that it works because there are a lot of great and workable ideas out there that get frustrated because some of the structures intended to support local businesses are failing them. If you stay focused on what you set yourself to do, go all the way and do it!
Mmegi: Itekanele has been involved in various community projects around the country. Can you tell us more about your corporate social responsibility programme?
Reikeletseng: We believe underprivileged people have the same experience that Itekanele has gone through, they are synonymous with who we are. That is why we ambitiously and aggressively support them; why we have been doing a lot of community projects. With the little money that we make, we always consider that we are Batswana; we have to invest back into the society that has made us what we are. These people have believed in us and supported us. We have helped a lot of students, particularly with medical aid cover - something that no other medical aid has ever done in this country. We are involved in sporting bodies, especially by helping them host tournaments. We have now gone into building homes for those in need and starting vegetable gardens for them. We still extend support to students with potential but without means. We support them by putting a roof over their heads and ensuring that we give them the other necessary support.
Mmegi: Going forward, what are you plans?
Reikeletseng: Our plans are to expand into the region. We want to start off in Zambia, and then Lesotho and Mozambique. But before that, we wish we could get the confidence of the government and corporate business in our own country. We are working on ensuring that we are the leading medical aid - the medical aid of choice for Batswana. That is our biggest ambition, and we are going to do that with the passion that has driven us thus far.
Mmegi: Talking about confidence, do you think you have done enough to win over both the government and the corporate world? Individual customers, too?
Reikeletseng: I believe there is more that we need to do. The fact that we have been able to grow the business to where it is now is in itself testimony that we the confidence to go forward. But to transform that confidence into how the market views Itekanele, we must go into a more aggressive marketing of our modest but considerable successes; to broadcast and publish our story more widely. One strong element that we need to sell is that we are the only medical aid with a network of offices all over the country. For me, that should tell everyone that we are here to stay.
Mmegi: Medical aid has largely been seen as the preserve of the middle class and high-income earners. What has Itekanele done to convince the ordinary person that you have an affordable product regardless of socio-economic status?
Reikeletseng: Health care should not be a privilege. Medical cover and health care is everyone's right regardless of socio-economic status. You need to develop products in such a way that ensure that everyone is covered, and yet these should be quality products. The same person who joins Itekanele and is not employed or who is in the lower strata of society consults the same health professional as the individual with thousands of pula. We are providing an affordable service.
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