Our Story
Early 2022, we embarked on a mission- to find out why medical insurance penetration is so low in Africa-
-a continent with 23% of the global disease burden. To do this, we initially conducted secondary research consuming tons of books, industry reports, publications and papers which led us to ideate around an insurance offering called Benja-Care- specifically targeted towards the Bottom of the Pyramid. The idea was to make insurance as cheap and as affordable as possible plus align premium collection with informal workers irregular income patterns.
We quickly prototyped the solution and tested it with potential customers through interviews, surveys and focus groups. That’s when we realized through user feedback that there was a fundamental problem with our value proposition as well as that of other insurance companies, whether legacy or InsureTechs, hence it's low uptake. Customers are required to bear a present financial cost in exchange for future medical benefits, yet their income is limited and tied to more pressing present needs which makes them not plan for future health shocks.
However, when such shocks occur, they see utility in credit products that affords them present benefit in exchange for future costs. With this realization, we went on further co-creating with the customer and incorporating their feedback into the product design. Ultimately, when we had finally found a sound value hypothesis as well as a perfect problem-solution fit, we set out to build them just what they had asked for.
Med Now Pay Later
Med Now Pay Later - a digital platform that enables the uninsured finance their healthcare costs through an Access Now model. When customers fall sick, they gain access to medical services such as tests, consultation & pharmaceuticals through our network of partner pharmacies/hospitals. Afterwards they pay back in flexible and affordable installments over time. They can also add dependents ie. elderly parents & children who can spend a portion of the credit set for them to get treatment.
We partnered with Goodlife Pharmacies Africa, the largest pharmaceutical chain in the region, and Equity Afia clinics to pilot our solution across their healthcare facilities. After a few months, we analyzed the data and discovered that while there was demand for medical credit among patients, the low banking penetration made collection and repayment challenging, posing a scalability issue.
Med Now Africa
Through extensive conversations with medical professionals, we had an "aha" moment. We found that many struggled to cover business expenses, leading to late payments, strained supplier relationships, drug stockouts, and low employee morale. This resulted in low patient loyalty and high churn.
When asked about the root cause, these professionals pointed to working capital issues, largely due to delayed insurance reimbursements, sometimes taking up to 120 days. They expressed a need for a credit product that was revolving, digitally managed, and automatically repaid through a small portion of their daily revenue. Additionally, they highlighted challenges in managing their finances, with little control or visibility over spending.
With these insights, we began lending small amounts and requiring daily manual repayments. The results were impressive—every borrower repaid on time and requested more credit, demonstrating ongoing demand. This success led us to develop an MVP and partner with KCB to automate the loan management process using their banking infrastructure.
Today, we've evolved into a B2B business with our product Med Now—a spend management platform with embedded credit for medical providers. Our platform allows pharmacies and clinics to automate business expenses like supplier payments, payroll, and bills, saving them time and costs. Based on their spending data, they gain access to a credit overdraft facility to cover shortfalls, ensuring all payments are made on time.
Our Vision
To become the leading financial management platform for medical providers in Africa, integrating spend, credit, and payments.
Our Mission
To strengthen healthcare systems in Africa through efficient financial management.
Our Values
Knowledge, Sustainability, Impact.
