Orange Eyeing Africa’s E-Health Market

Telecommunications company Orange has developed an e-health platform Orange Santé (Orange Healthcare) in partnership with DabaDoc, the Moroccan start-up targeting the Côte d’Ivoire market.

Orange announced the platform dedicated to the health ecosystem in Africa is aimed at both African patients and doctors. It also provides access to several services such as online appointment booking, payment for remote consultations by the diaspora, digitized medical records and teleconsultations.

According to Orange, the platform addresses the issue of limited and unequal access to healthcare for African patients.

“There is still just one doctor per 1,000 inhabitants (source GSMA). Orange Santé’s ambition is to support the African medical sector to make up for the shortage of doctors affecting certain health districts, by allowing patients living in isolated regions to consult the specialist of their choice remotely,” it said.

Côte d’Ivoire will be the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to benefit from the e-health platform. The launch of the platform is part of the Orange group’s strategy to become the leading digital operator and a key player in e-health in Africa and the Middle East. The telco says the platform will be launched in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa by 2023.

“Orange Santé is particularly aimed at Ivorian healthcare facilities since it allows them to be listed on the platform, and to digitize the management of their healthcare centre, from making appointments online to creating the patient’s digitized medical record. The platform provides member healthcare professionals with greater visibility and flow management while allowing them to improve their organization,” the company said.

Orange and DabaDoc signed a strategic partnership in June 2021 aimed at benefiting from DabaDoc’s technological expertise and Orange’s payment solutions to enable the development of digital solutions that quickly bring concrete benefits to patients and the entire African healthcare ecosystem.