Post Status:
Main Project Location: Nairobi
Project country/countries: Kenya
Project dates:  –
Last updated: 23 March 2022

Brief overview of the Case Study   

Afya Rekod is a digital health data platform that focuses on the patient and allows health facilities to capture, store, have real-time access and mobility of the patients’ health data. Developed as a patient driven platform, the patient maintains the sovereign right of ownership to their health data. Using AI and various blockchain modules, Afya Rekod allows health institutions, partners, and patients to make insightful data driven decisions that allows doctors to provide better healthcare for patients.

The challenge or problem

“Africa and most of the third world countries have limited doctors and access to healthcare services. Lack of patient data in real-time makes the problem even more damaging to both patients and health-service providers across the continent. Over 65 per cent of Africans live in rural communities that are not connected and are off grid in terms of access to healthcare services. This is the problem we are trying to solve,” says John Kamara, founder of Afya Rekod.

The solution that was implemented

“Afya Rekod is a medical data storage platform that allows patients to store their health records, the medication they take as well as keep journals of their statuses and that of their kids and families. The platform is AI driven and uses various AI modules to help detect abnormalities, detect early outbreaks and monitor mobility and evolution of diseases via timely data analytics.” Said John Kamara.
Afya Rekod has 3 access channels:
SaaS – Patient driven data storage, real-time access, and mobility platform for health institutions.
Mobile app – Android and IOS (Management, information, storage and communication platform for patients, doctors, and other health-care providers).
USSD – USSD platform allows patients and health works with feature phones and those in rural communities to also participate in the Afya Rekod ecosystem.

Afya Rekod’s general services
Access your health report.
Book online appointments.
Track your prescriptions.
Tele pharmacy
Life sciences services
Insurance partner
Genomics
Disease mapping
AI modelling
Data driven research.

What technology was used?

What results were achieved?

John Kamara is a serial entrepreneur and has founded many start-ups – he has been involved in gaming, fintech and health-tech using technologies like blockchain and AI with latest being Afya Rekod.
Developed as a patient driven platform, the patient maintains the sovereign right of ownership to their health data. Using AI and various blockchain modules, Afya Rekod allows health institutions, partners, and patients to make insightful data driven decisions that allows doctors to provide better healthcare for patients.
Using a combination of our SaaS Platform, Mobile APP and USSD Afya Rekod is also able to help with disease tracking, contact tracing, remote training and mapping of various outbreaks and pandemics. Afya Rekod is working with a number of partners to provide COVID-19 monitoring and management solutions to institutions and patients.
“Afya Rekod comes at a crucial time when the world is experiencing one of the biggest pandemics in generations and we need to monitor the movement and evolution of the virus closely to determine the changing nature of symptoms among other things,” Kamara said.

Lessons and recommendations

The patience that is required in the journey and how to pivot quickly. That was the first lesson I learned with my first start up in Ireland in 2010.
Reflecting on his earlier AI and digital banking prospects, Kamara says their potential clients initially rejected their proposal, attributing it to their use of “high-value words” that confused their potential clients. “The moral is you don’t just sell a product in Africa; you must also help clients understand or create strategies to market the product for it to make a real impact and to acquire customers”, he said.
Think big and land somewhere that allows you to galvanise your land grab.
The one thing I do say to start-ups is: “The only thing you know is that you know nothing.” When that becomes your creed then you will always fill your pot with knowledge that will allow you to be humble when required and bullish when needed.

Extra notes

“We believe that Healthcare happens outside the hospital, and Treatment happens in the hospital. Afya Rekod is poised to bridge the gap between Healthcare and Treatment in Africa and the world”.

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