Affordable private healthcare for everyone, no matter where you are
Kena Health is a South African leader in the telehealth space, both in terms of reach and the quality of the service they provide. Offering real-world, cost-effective healthcare to all people who live in South Africa, Kena empowers people to live healthier, more vibrant lives by making affordable medical care and mental health support more accessible.
The challenge
According to a survey by Statistics SA, out of a total population of 60 million, 45 million South Africans are still largely dependent on public healthcare as high healthcare costs lock 84% of South Africans out of most quality private healthcare.
As costs continue to rapidly escalate, fewer and fewer people can afford the medical scheme premiums that give them access to day-to-day cover. Furthermore, millions of South Africans who can afford to pay a little out of pocket for healthcare cannot afford to access the exorbitant prices of the private sector.
Launched in 2022, Kena has earned acclaim with over 300,000 downloads and ranks first in South Africa’s Google Play Store and third in the Apple App Store for medical apps.
The app allows users to consult online with healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, therapists, and counsellors, all from the convenience of their smartphones for no more than R185 per consultation. With the Kena Health app, a doctor and therapist are always nearby, allowing you access wherever you are, right from your phone.
In addition to online doctor and therapy consultations, the app provides access to essential medical documents such as sick notes, prescriptions, and referrals with Express services. With a team of health professionals organised around the needs of patients and the power of technology, Kena is able to treat millions of Africans more affordably by dramatically lowering the cost of a doctor’s consultation.
Perhaps unbeknownst to some, Kena is brought to users by one of our incredible partners, a South African-based HealthTech company, Healthforce. Healthforce improves healthcare through multidisciplinary clinical teams, led by nurses in over 450 clinics across the country. Healthforce has conducted more than 1.5 million nurse-led consultations and 135 000 virtual doctor consultations in the last 4 years.
The solution
With growing stats like this, it’s no surprise that Kena is accumulating quite a list of accolades: From winning the Innovation City Cape Town's startup of the year award for 2022 to winning the coveted MTN App of the Year and Best Health App 2023 awards.
These recognitions all underscore Kena’s significant contribution to addressing primary and mental healthcare challenges in South Africa.
Kena has also received a $2 million (over R36 million) investment from Old Mutual’s subsidiary NEXT176. By opening its distribution channels, Old Mutual will help to address the healthcare needs of under-serviced and underserved communities in South Africa making the app accessible and available to millions of people.
Kena is taking consistent and dedicated steps forward to build a more holistic, accessible and patient-first healthcare system in our nation and we take immense pride in being part of the Kena team as they continue to partner with other healthcare providers, deliver disruptive and sustainable growth and drive such impactful change to broaden the healthcare experience for all South Africans.
The future is certainly bright!
Telemedicine is really taking over the field of medicine and the opportunity to pioneer advancements in technology in this field is very exciting.
Vincent Holtzhausen Kena Tech Lead
It feels as if these Platform45 guys are actually part of our team — we are building something, equally and together. They are curious, problem-solvers and engineers in the truest sense: they just want to build cool stuff. Culturally, they have sought to understand how we want things done.
