M-TIBA wins IFC Award for scaling up operations in Kenya

M-TIBA’s scale up in Kenya has seen it being awarded the 2017 Financial Times/IFC Transformational Business Award in Sustainable Development, with a focus on Health, Wellness and Disease Prevention.

Kees Van Lede, CEO, CarePay said in a press release, “The support of all our partners has been invaluable in building M-TIBA and us being recognised as a transformational business. We’ve built a platform that allows for a more efficient and transparent way of connecting patients, doctors, payers and governments.

“M-TIBA builds trust that resources are being spent for the right person, for the right care, at the right place, at the right time, at low transaction costs. We will continue to scale up by working with great partners from across the entire health industry. Building healthcare inclusion is a huge task and cannot be achieved by a single organisation.”

So far, more than ten donor and corporate schemes are running on M-TIBA. In April 2017, PharmAccess strengthened the partnership with Kenya’s National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), applying M-TIBA within an NHIF health insurance scheme.

NHIF CEO Mr. Geoffrey Mwangi said in a statement, “As NHIF gears up towards universal health coverage, M-TIBA can help us to reach low-income groups who up to now were excluded from health insurance schemes.”

Two out of every five people in Kenya, who need care, do not seek treatment from hospitals because they lack the money. Nearly half of all healthcare expenditure in the country is still out-of-pocket.

Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom said in a release, “For many Kenyans, a trip to the clinic can create real financial strain. Unexpected healthcare costs are still one of the main reasons people fall even further into poverty. This award is a great recognition of how mobile – through innovative solutions like M-TIBA – is transforming access to essential services for millions of Kenyans.”

Since M-TIBA was launched in Kenya in the summer of 2016, more than 920,000 people have signed up for the service.

Dr. Khama Rogo, Head of Health in Africa Initiative, IFC/World Bank Group, says, “If there is any disruptive innovation happening on the African continent today that is leading us towards the attainment of universal health coverage, this is it. M-TIBA is truly leapfrogging healthcare in Kenya.”

M-TIBA is also driving transformation in healthcare provision. So far, the 450 connected healthcare providers have treated more than 100,000 patients, generating more than KES 140 million in medical transactions through M-TIBA.

Healthcare facilities on M-TIBA are being quality-assessed using to the internationally recognized SafeCare standards. They gain access to affordable credit through the Medical Credit Fund – based on their M-TIBA payments history. In addition, PharmAccess offers a range of services, including training modules to help them further improve their business and the clinical care provided.

Millicent Olulo, Country Director PharmAccess, says, “Digital technology is on the verge of disrupting healthcare in Africa in a way that I think none of us can fully imagine yet. It is transforming how PharmAccess works with clinics and hospitals to improve standards and business management. Importantly, digital technology is helping clinics and hospitals access new sources of finance, whether it is from loans or international donors.”

Medical Credit Fund, part of the PharmAccess Group, was also shortlisted for this year’s FT/IFC Transformational Business Award in the category Achievement in Transformational Finance. Last year, the Kwara State Health Insurance Program won the award in the category Achievement in Sustainable Development: Maternal & Infant Health.