At the World Economic Forum in Davos, South African HealthTech company Welo emerged as one of just 22 startups globally recognised in the HealthTech category and one of only two from Africa. Its founder and chief executive, Zanele Abraham Matome, also delivered a keynote on “Bridging the digital health divide”, underscoring a broader shift where African entrepreneurs are no longer pilot-testing innovation. They are scaling it.
For global investors and policymakers tracking healthcare’s next frontier, the signal from Davos was clear. Africa’s tech-led health entrepreneurs are becoming system builders connecting cost, access, workforce productivity and care delivery in markets where the gaps are widest and the upside largest.
Welo’s ascent carries a distinctly African trajectory. Matome traces the company’s origins to its earliest days delivering chronic medication in townships sometimes personally.
“This took me back to our early days at Welo where we delivered chronic meds in the township and I would hop on taxis and do some of the deliveries myself,” she recalled. “I loved delivering to Gogos because I knew I was guaranteed tea, magwinya and lots of love.”
That lived experience now underpins a platform designed for scale.
Welo re-architects workforce healthcare by linking corporate employers, health insurers, clinicians and patients through a single digital system cutting absenteeism, reducing healthcare costs and removing the friction that often stops employees from using care at all.
By 2026, global healthcare systems face converging pressures like ageing workforces, rising chronic disease, mental health strain and ballooning employer healthcare costs. In Africa, these pressures are amplified by access gaps and that is precisely why innovation is accelerating faster.
African HealthTech startups are building solutions for complexity, not convenience. They design for scale, cost discipline and last-mile delivery capabilities increasingly sought by global markets.
In today’s fast-paced world, the gap between accessible healthcare services and the evolving needs of corporate environments has never been more challenging.
Welo’s answer is a dynamic platform that integrates care across workplaces and homes.
For corporates, Welo offers:
- On-site occupational health supported by a real-time digital dashboard
- Flexible, customisable wellness programmes aligned to budget and workforce needs
- Remote counselling through mental health partners
- Virtual doctor consultations and hospital-at-home services
For health insurers, Welo acts as a critical last-mile partner:
- Nationwide homecare coverage
- Workplace-based service delivery
- Regional reach across the SADC market
- In-hospital digital case management tools
For nurses and doctors, the model unlocks flexibility offering diverse clinical exposure, streamlined processes and work schedules that reflect modern healthcare realities.
The Innovator Award at Davos did more than validate Welo’s technology. It reinforced Africa’s growing credibility as a source of exportable healthcare innovation built not on excess capital, but on necessity, ingenuity and proximity to real-world problems.
That only two African startups featured among 22 global HealthTech innovators is not a limitation. It is a signal of where momentum is concentrating.
“This is my first time at WEF, and it’s incredibly exciting,” Matome says. “Being invited here means African innovation is being recognised at the highest level.”
African founders are increasingly winning attention not for “emerging market” narratives, but for building infrastructure-grade solutions from digital health to fintech, climate tech and logistics that global systems now need.
HealthTech in Africa is no longer about catching up. It is about redesigning healthcare delivery for a world where employers demand productivity, insurers demand efficiency, clinicians demand flexibility and patients demand dignity.
Welo’s journey from township deliveries to Davos recognition captures that shift with unusual clarity.
As global capital looks for scalable, resilient health solutions in 2026 and beyond, African entrepreneurs like Matome are not asking for a seat at the table. They are building new tables altogether.
