West African e-health company Helium Health recently secured US$10-million in funding which will help it expand into new markets.

The company provides electronic medical records and hospital information management systems, and supplies these systems to several markets including Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal – and most recently Kenya.

“There is a great opportunity to harness cutting-edge technology to help improve the way healthcare data is gathered and managed across Africa,” said Tito Ovia, co-founder of Helium Health.

In Kenya, Helium Health has roped in three local partners to “improve efficiencies” in the management of health information and electronic medical records.

“We are already working with three new partners in Nairobi, and rolling out in Uganda and Liberia,” said Jean Kyula, Kenya country manager for Helium Health. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role of technology in healthcare, and the need to keep building better systems, to develop more remote access solutions, and to improve efficiencies in our healthcare sector.”

The Kenyan market has been alluring for telemedicine and health tech, with health institutions and consumers seeking to migrate to electronic and mobile platforms. The country’s mobile penetration rate has shot up to 119.9% as at the end of June 2020, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya.

Regional electronic health and telemedicine experts say there is growing demand for technological platforms that enhance the management of healthcare data in Kenya, where new survey findings show that 90% of the population prefer mobile based healthcare services and information.

According to the Mobile Health Transformation in Kenya; The Influence of Mobile phones on Kenya’s Healthcare Sector report, released this month, “healthcare providers and payers are scaling their telemedicine services… however, questions remain about their success in winning over consumers to the new mobile and digital platforms.”

An excerpt from the report reads: “Over 90% of survey respondents would like to receive more healthcare services through their mobile phones. But only 20% of consumers would like to receive more telehealth service.”