Hilda Asiimwe, a Ugandan techpreneur and her Ghanaian colleague, Richmond Ampabeng Bediako, have developed a platform, Digital Health Access, that enables users to connect to health experts (doctors, psychologists, nutritionists etc.), legal experts and security agencies.
The platform is both web -and app-based. The application can only be downloaded by people using Android phones. It is about 10MBs so you don’t need a lot of space to use it.
The system, according to Asiimwe, is currently being used by people in Kenya, UK, USA, but most users are in Ghana and Uganda.
They have already established partnerships with some of the reputable organizations in the countries they are operating in.
For instance, in Uganda, they are working with Friecca Pharmacy; law firms like MMAKS Advocates, Alaka and Company Advocates, FIDA Uganda; health centres include Nakasero Hospital, St. Catherine’s Hospital, Kololo Polyclinic, Kampala Family Clinic among others.
They are also aligned with renowned Kampala psychologist Beatrice Langariti and the counsellor Hilda Bahati.
It’s only the security section that does not have affiliates yet. But Asiimwe told us by phone this afternoon that they have talked to the police and security agents will be integrated soon.
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The system will allow people to send alerts to security organisations they(Digital Health Access) will be allied with, according to Asiimwe.
While they are mainly a medical services platform, Asiimwe says they realized that the health of a person is about the general wellbeing and that’s why they included lawyers and security agencies.
Features of Digital Health Access
Once you download the app or launch the website, you can engage some of the experts directly and, for some, you pitch the inquiry through the company, which will then connect you to the service provider you want.
There is a form where you type your problem, identify the expert you need to talk to. Consultation can be done online or you can meet the expert in person.
Today afternoon, we tried out a request for a doctor and Hilda Asiimwe, the company founder and chief executive officer, responded in about 1o minutes.
She says consultation fees is Shs4000 for a single round of engagement. The money is paid online using either mobile money or a credit card.
Their consultation is cheaper when you compare with what you would cough to meet a doctor in a hospital, including the time you put in and transport charges.
Other than meeting experts, the platform also has a section of tips on different topics the app covers, where you can go and read free content.
Digital Health Access was launched in May of this year.
Asiimwe recently told DisruptAfrica that they are currently a self-funded business and they are in the process of raising US$500,000 (about Shs1.9 billion) to help in scaling their product.
The app has already seen more than 1,000 downloads, and they average more than 60 daily consultations, most of them coming from Uganda.
Most of the service providers on the platform are from Uganda.
“Our target is to have reached 1,000 consultants on our platform and have at least 10,000 consultations a day,” said Asiimwe told DisruptAfrica.
Like any other startup launched in Africa, Asiimwe and Bediako, face the immediate challenges their counterparts are facing like low internet penetration, poor technology adaptability and limited access to funding.
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