Female-led digital health and wellness clinic Zoie Health has launched an online contraceptive service available to women countrywide.
Run by cousins Dr Nonhlanhla Sitole, 37, and Thato Schermer, 31, the application called MyContraceptive allows women to speak to a doctor specifically for contraceptives and order them online without going in for physical consultations.
This is an add-on service after launching an online health centre last year.
The duo based in Johannesburg has in the past month won two international awards.
Last month, their business won top prize at the HBS Africa Business Club New Venture Competition 2022 in Boston, US.
They also won the grand prize at the Stanford Africa Pitch Competition held in California which will incubate their start-up.
“It was quite a pleasant surprise for us to win these awards so early in our start-up journey and we were the first female founding teams to win. It just reiterated that people really need these services,” said Schermer.
The women launched the health clinic last year after they both had bad experiences with a doctor. Consultations for contraceptives on this platform are from R250 and monthly contraceptive delivery costs about R200 depending on the type of contraceptive. To compare, gynaecological consultations often cost from R850 upwards.
“A harrowing expense at the OB-GYN's [obstetrician-gynecologist's] office for me, and a season of post-partum depression for Nonhlanhla, as well as countless anecdotes from friends, colleagues and families, helped us understand how widespread and severe this problem [bad experiences] was and the opportunity to use technology to help solve the problem for millions of women,” said Schermer.
“We realised that this issue didn't just apply to us, but it applied to so many other women in South Africa.”
They believe their success was also fast-tracked by the Covid-19 pandemic which created a digital boom in SA and the world.
“I think people are much more comfortable doing things online now because of the pandemic and this helped us capitalise on the online market,” said Schermer.
“The cost of healthcare is so high for something many women need every month. We wanted to provide a service that was fast, affordable and convenient.
“We also realised that many women do so much online, from shopping to ride sharing and banking, but not their healthcare. So we wanted to provide a digital solution to their health.”
Schermer and Sitole have experience working in the health field and have about 50 healthcare providers available on the app including doctors, nurse practitioners, psychologists, doulas, midwives and dietitians. Some of the services are voluntary but prices range from R50 to R1,320.
“I have a bachelor of business science honours from the University of Cape Town and gained experience in leading B2B sales and partnerships while working at Uber. I also worked for three of the largest healthcare companies [one a health insurance company and two are health providers] on the continent where I led digital innovation projects and business development,” said Schermer.
Nonhlanhla has a PhD in genetics and molecular biology, her research focused on cervical cancer metastasis and HPV in Africa. Her work has been published in an international, peer reviewed journal. She is equally as passionate about women's empowerment and using science and technology to advance access to healthcare services for women across the globe.”
Schermer said their main concern is ensuring that the thousands of women who have used their app return.
“As a new service, building trust is very important. So we need to ensure we build trust and reliability with our members,” she said.
In the future, the cousins want to grow into Africa.
“We want to become the home of women's health, offering all the health and wellness services women need. We also want to expand across the African continent,” said Schermer.
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