The story of Vula revolves around trying to answer a complex question:

Why is it so hard to get patients the care they need, when they need it?

When I was working in rural hospitals in South Africa, I realised that many patients were waiting months to see specialists, often for problems that could have been treated locally. At the same time, doctors in smaller clinics had no easy way to get advice or make referrals. The result was long queues, wasted time, and patients falling through the cracks.

Working with incredible developers and health workers, we build an app that would connect frontline clinicians directly with specialists; starting with eye care, and quickly growing to include dozens of specialties.

Our next key moment came a few years later when we realised just how many private sector health workers were also using Vula, to help patients in the private sector and those who move between public and private. It turns out secure, compliant, and easy collaboration and communication are challenges across the entire health system, and ones our team of 9 is proud to help solve.

Today, 11 years later, Vula goes well beyond its initial scope. It is used in over 2,300 facilities across the private and public sectors, helping the right doctors to see the right patients, at the right time.