The $67 million Mobihealth Telemedicine Project is an innovative digital health transaction involving the establishment of a fully integrated telemedicine proprietary platform. It is one of eight deals, with a total value of nearly $5 billion, that were presented at the Africa Investment Forum's Virtual Boardrooms event held in March 2022. Presented under the 'Women as Investment Champions' pillar, these transactions involved entities either founded or led by women or with a significant gender impact.
In October 2022, Mobihealth Care Limited was awarded a grant by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for feasibility studies to assess a proposed regional expansion of telehealth services beyond Nigeria into Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt. The studies will support Mobihealth's goal of reaching and treating at least one million patients within ten years. The grant funding was made possible by the support received from the Africa Investment Forum, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021 with USTDA to support high-quality infrastructure solutions for sub-Saharan Africa.
The Africa Investment Forum continues to provide extensive support to Mobihealth in its journey to grow and expand into the rest of the continent. This includes assistance in raising the funding required for its proposed expansion. Telehealth technology is widely considered to be a 'game changer' for health care provision in the continent.
Mobihealth will be among several transformative transactions to be showcased at the 2022 Africa Investment Forum Market Days, which is taking place from 2-4 November in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
We caught up with Mobihealth CEO, Dr Funmi Adewara after the event to hear her thoughts:
1. Please describe the feeling of learning about the grant to Mobihealth Intl?
Excited, elated, proud and grateful is how I feel about this grant! What an incredible opportunity for us. We feel particularly honoured to have been selected for this grant and this further underscores the commitment of the USTDA and African Investment Forum, AIF, in supporting female-led enterprises to bridge the funding gap, particularly in the health sector.
2. How will the funds drive Mobihealth's telehealth vision and strategic plan?
This is definitely coming at an opportune time and will fast track the regional expansion plan of our integrated telehealth solutions, especially for the rural hard to reach communities, where we hope to reach hundreds of thousands of patients yearly over the next 10 years.
3. Tell us why you see telehealth as a compelling and viable solution for African populations?
Africa bears a quarter of the global disease burden but has only 3% of world doctors. The mass exodus of doctors worsens an already dire situation, with long distance travel, high treatment cost and counterfeit medicines all contributing to the inequalities in access to quality healthcare. All of this in a continent where 95% of people lack health insurance.
Technology had taken centre stage in global health discussions. Telemedicine - the use of modern-day technology to provide medical care to patients remotely - and the explosive mobile technology growth across the continent presents us with an immediate opportunity to change this dismal narrative.
Technology will also help us bridge the paucity of data and help tailor medical interventions to meet patient's needs and deliver quality and cost-effective solutions in a timely manner for better care outcomes. It presents a unique opportunity for Africa to leapfrog her healthcare challenges.
