Brenda Katwesigye is providing healthcare in Uganda to those who need it the most
BASED IN: UGANDA
Instahealth is a company focused on creating impact within the African health sector through simple mobile technologies. Its flagship product, the Instahealth Mobile application helps anyone with a mobile phone access ambulances, doctors and healthcentres in the shortest time possible.
Instahealth's core focus is two-fold.
1. Emergency response to save lives during the "golden hour" by connecting users to the nearest ambulance and matching that with the most relevant health centre.
2. Make access to a doctor cheaper and easier especially for adolescents, women and individuals who are uncomfortable having a face to face doctor consultation.
We love the premise of InstaHealth! What is the inspiration behind your company- how did you get started?
I started InstaHealth after working on a medical ICT based project at the University. I found that there was actually a major challenge when it came to accessibility and affordability of health services. When I travelled to Moroto (a rural area about 500km from the capital, Kampala) during the course of the project, I fell sick and I had absolutely no idea where I was going to get any help at that point. That’s the point the concept of InstaHealth clicked.
What are some of the obstacles that you've had to overcome along InstaHealth's journey?
The biggest challenge has so far been managing the project to ensure that we donot continue to have scope creep. By this I mean, we have had so many brilliant ideas, and we spent so much time trying to make a perfect product, instead of launching what we have so that to improve it based on our user feedback. It has also been a challenge to keep innovating to stay ahead of the competition.
Lastly, it has been a challenge hiring and retaining the right team.
How important is it to have a team or support system in the early stages of your business?
A team is a must have because no entrepreneur knows it all. As much as I wear many hats in my business, there is so much more a team brings on board, even if its just positive energy when things don't go well. When we do things together, I realize we work faster and better because each team member brings on board a different and unique perspective to how we do our work.
Why do you think now is the time to be a female entrepreneur?
The time is right because there is so much support. I have 3 mentors - all female advising me on different areas of the business and life. Females are rising up to help and inspire each other and for me this has been very helpful. And its a ripple effect and my plan is to carry that on. Help more women like myself.
What do you envision for the future of InstaHealth?
Growth. In the next 5 years, I want to see InstaHealth in 2 other countries with more products. Our immediate target is growing to Kenya and South Sudan (geographically). We are also planning to launch our new exciting application for eye care diagnosis before the end of this year.