When you think of healthcare, you might picture doctors in white coats roaming hospital wards filled with patients. But across Africa, a quieter revolution is happening across the health sector through codes, data, and digital creativity.
Already, digital tools are showing real, measurable impact. McKinsey estimates that digital health – through things like telemedicine, EMRs, AI diagnostics, etc. – could boost health-system efficiency by up to 15% by 2030, saving billions in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. In more than 40 African nations, telemedicine platforms are now used to serve remote or underserved populations.
This has, and continues to transform how millions of people access care through telemedicine apps that connect patients in remote areas to doctors thousands of miles away, data systems predicting disease outbreaks before they spread, and other brilliant technology rewriting Africa’s health story.
Behind this movement are visionary women who see beyond traditional healthcare. They are harnessing the power of tech to close critical gaps, empower communities, and redefine what healthcare can look like on the continent.
Here are 7 remarkable African women using technology to treat illness, promote digital health, and build healthier and more connected societies.
1. Daisy Isiaho & Titilola Olaolu-Hassan – Zuri Health
When Daisy Isiaho and Titilola Olaolu-Hassan co-founded Zuri Health in 2021, their goal was to fix Africa’s uneven access to healthcare using technology. From their base in Nairobi, they built a virtual hospital that connects patients to doctors, pharmacies, and laboratories through SMS, WhatsApp, and the Zuri Health app – ensuring even those without smartphones or stable internet can access care.
As Chief Product Officer, Daisy Isiaho drives the platform’s design and development, drawing from her expertise in strategic thinking and commercial execution in tech. Titilola Olaolu-Hassan, the Chief Operating Officer, brings over 18 years of experience in sales, strategy, and product management, along with a personal commitment to maternal and neonatal health.
Zuri Health’s model is holistic, covering chronic disease management, prescription refills, nutrition consultations, and remote doctor appointments through its Continuous Care Program. It also integrates AI and mobile technology to anticipate and prevent illness.
Today, Zuri Health operates in eight countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia – with over 500,000 subscribers.
2. Thato Schermer & Dr Nonhlanhla Sitole – Zoie Health Technologies
Thato Schermer and Dr Nonhlanhla Sitole founded Zoie Health Technologies in 2020 to close one of the biggest gaps in healthcare – access to women-centred medical support. Based in South Africa, Zoie Health functions as a digital women’s health and wellness clinic, offering virtual consultations, contraceptive subscription services, and a safe online community for women to connect, share, and heal together.
The idea was born from both personal and professional experience. Dr Sitole, a medical doctor, drew inspiration from her own battle with postpartum depression, realising how isolating women’s health challenges can be. Schermer, with her background in business and tech, helped transform that insight into a scalable, digital model that makes healthcare simple, affordable, and stigma-free.
Today, Zoie Health serves thousands of users and healthcare professionals across South Africa, with ambitions to expand continent-wide. It’s been recognised as a finalist in MTN’s App of the Year (2022), came first place at the Harvard Business School: Africa Business Club Competition, etc. The company recently launched EasyDoc, a WhatsApp-based employee wellness solution helping organisations reduce absenteeism through quick digital access to doctors.
3. Zineb Drissi-Kaitouni – DabaDoc
In 2014, Zineb Drissi-Kaitouni set out to solve the long, uncertain wait to see a doctor. With a background in finance and a passion for tech, she co-founded DabaDoc with her brother, Driss Drissi-Kaitouni, to bring healthcare booking online. What started as a local Moroccan platform has since grown into one of Africa’s leading health-tech success stories.
DabaDoc allows patients to instantly book appointments with doctors across more than 100 medical specialities, serving over 12 million users and 10,000 healthcare professionals in countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Côte d’Ivoire. The platform also offers video consultations – priced between 150–500 Moroccan Dirhams ($15–$50) – making specialist care accessible beyond borders.
In 2021, Orange Middle East and Africa invested in DabaDoc, followed by strategic partnerships with AXA and others, fueling its expansion. Today, DabaDoc is redefining convenience in African healthcare, giving millions of people the ability to see a doctor not by waiting in line, but with a single click.
4. Dr Precious Lunga – Baobab Circle
Dr Precious Lunga was determined to tackle the growing burden of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension when she founded Baobab Circle in 2016. A Zimbabwean epidemiologist with a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge, she built Baobab Circle to deliver accessible, data-driven healthcare through mobile technology.
At the heart of the company is Afya Pap, an AI-powered mobile platform that provides localised health education, remote patient monitoring, and personalised coaching. Users can access it through USSD, SMS, or the app – meaning anyone with a basic phone can get care. Through “Ask the Dr” voice and video consultations, patients are connected directly to healthcare providers within their national systems.
Baobab Circle operates across seven African countries, integrating connected devices like glucose meters and blood pressure monitors to enable continuous care. Supported by partners such as the Swiss Re Foundation, the company has reached thousands of low-income users, hosted over 83 community health camps, and offered free screenings for chronic diseases.
5. Inas Abdelwahed – Otida
Inas Abdelwahed, an Egyptian physician and public health expert, co-founded Otida in 2021 to revolutionise diabetes care through digital health innovation. Based in New Cairo, Otida combines artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and continuous remote monitoring to deliver personalised care for patients living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, with the ambitious goal of even reversing type 2 diabetes through data-driven lifestyle interventions.
Otida’s platform collects patient data via mobile apps and wearables, using AI decision-support systems to provide real-time insights and tailored health recommendations. Patients receive integrated support from doctors, nutritionists, and wellness coaches – creating a continuous, holistic care experience that replaces fragmented clinic visits.
Before founding Otida, Abdelwahed worked in Egypt’s Ministry of Health’s National AIDS Program and later became a Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Fellow. Her blend of medical expertise and public health leadership shaped Otida’s vision: to close healthcare gaps and empower patients to take control of their conditions.
Through mentorship under the African Women in Digital Health program, Inas Abdelwahed continues to advance the startup’s mission – building a model for chronic disease management that’s tech-enabled, patient-centred, and scalable across the MENA region.
6. Abimbola Adebakin – Advantage Health Africa
In Nigeria, Abimbola Adebakin saw a problem that couldn’t be ignored. Millions were struggling to access affordable, quality medicines, and she set out to solve it. In 2017, she founded Advantage Health Africa, a health-tech company bridging the gap between pharmacies, patients, and providers through data and logistics.
Its flagship platform, myMedicines.com, offers last-mile delivery of prescription drugs nationwide, while myPharmacy, a franchise network, empowers over 1,000 independent pharmacies with shared technology, performance optimisation, and business support. Beyond commerce, the company runs the Pharmacists Leadership Stimulant Programme with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to groom a new generation of pharmacy leaders.
A pharmacist and certified performance technologist, Abimbola Adebakin built an asset-light aggregation model – scaling rapidly without owning physical pharmacies. Advantage Health Africa now serves hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, combining tech, logistics, and healthcare expertise to make medicines more accessible and affordable.
Her leadership has earned recognition from Google’s Black Founders Fund, Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award, and the Global Entrepreneurs Award by Joseph Business School.
