Over 2 million
patients helped

While working as a junior doctor in the rural Eastern Cape, Dr William Mapham treated a patient with a serious eye condition. Knowing the man needed specialist care, he wrote a referral letter and urged him to travel to Umtata for treatment. Seven years later, Dr Mapham saw the same patient again—only to learn he had never made the journey and had lost sight in the affected eye. Tragically, the necessary medication had been available at the original clinic, but no one there had the specialised knowledge to identify and administer it.

This award honours impactful innovations that address social issues in South Africa. Vula Medical was recognised for its outstanding contribution to improving healthcare access and efficiency.

Vula Medical received funding to further develop and test its healthcare referral system.

The SAB Foundation supports innovations that address social challenges in South Africa. Vula Medical won first prize for its mobile app that connects healthcare providers with specialists.

Vula was founded by Dr William Mapham (previous vice-chair of RuDASA and ophthalmology registrar at Tygerberg Hospital) following his experiences as a rural doctor and as a specialist. The App was initially designed at and then named after the Vula Emehlo Eye Clinic in Swaziland where Dr Mapham volunteered for 10 months and saw the potential for a mobile system to improve the referral system there.

With 11.4 specialists per 100 000 population in SA, specialists are under huge time pressure. (USA 54.7 per 100 000). Specialist’s landlines keep ringing and don’t always get answered, because the specialists are busy working. Patients in rural areas face long distances and expensive transport which stops patients from getting the right care. The result is that patients, doctors and specialists spend a lot of time and money on trying to communicate.

From these realisations, Vula Mobile was born.

The app processed its first 20 referrals in the launch month. It rapidly expanded from just ophthalmology to multiple specialties over time.

This award celebrates social entrepreneurs creating lasting positive change. Vula Medical was recognised for its entrepreneurial approach to bridging healthcare gaps.

The GAP ICT competition recognises information and communications technology solutions that solve real problems. Vula Medical earned second place for its innovative use of mobile and cloud technologies in healthcare.

This grant supports innovations that address rural development challenges. Vula Medical used the funding to expand and adapt its platform for rural healthcare environments.

The DG Murray Trust funds research that promotes social equity in South Africa. Vula Medical received this grant to research and enhance its platform’s role in improving patient referrals.

The Seed Awards recognise promising social and environmental start-ups in developing countries. Vula Medical received the Exceptional Social Start-up Enterprise prize for its impactful healthcare referral platform.

This award supports African entrepreneurs with scalable solutions to the continent’s challenges. Vula Medical was selected as one of six winners for its potential to improve healthcare access across Africa.

These awards celebrate innovation in public service delivery through technology. Vula Medical placed second for its effective use of ICT to connect healthcare workers and improve referral processes.

This global award recognises entrepreneurship that drives social and environmental progress. Vula Medical was honoured for its exceptional contribution to healthcare service delivery in low-resource settings.

These awards celebrate local businesses that create both social impact and economic value. Vula Medical placed second in the Best Social Enterprise category for its sustainable approach to improving healthcare delivery.

This award honours groundbreaking mobile applications with novel solutions to real-world problems. Vula Medical was named Most Innovative App for revolutionising how doctors and nurses refer patients to specialists.

Amazon’s City on a Cloud competition rewards cloud-based innovations that improve lives. Vula Medical was recognised as a finalist for its use of cloud technology to securely manage patient referrals and specialist communication.

The Clearly Vision Prize seeks innovative ideas to improve vision care globally. Vula Medical won for enabling primary care providers to refer patients with eye conditions directly to eye specialists using its mobile platform.

By early 2017, the number of health workers using Vula had more than doubled (from ~1,775 to ~3,600), and patient cases per quarter increased significantly (from ~2,400 to ~5,900). The platform also expanded into specialties such as orthopaedics, burns, dermatology, general surgery, internal medicine, oncology emergencies, paediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology, and served as a training tool for universities.

The Impumelelo Awards honour South African innovations that address social needs with measurable impact. Vula Medical received the Platinum Award for improving access to healthcare in remote and underserved communities.

The MTN App Awards celebrate the best mobile applications in South Africa across various categories. Vula Medical won Best Health Solution for providing a secure, easy-to-use platform that connects healthcare providers for patient referrals.

With over 6,200 facilities and 20,000 registered users by early 2020, Vula pivoted to support pandemic response: enabling triage referrals to ICU and field hospitals, facilitating donations allocation, hosting remote training sessions and meetings, and powering the “Doctors on Call” and NICD helpline services.

The United Nations Development Programme recognises entrepreneurs making transformative contributions to healthcare access and quality. Vula’s founder was ranked among the top four in Africa for creating a scalable, high-impact platform that connects health workers to specialists.

By December 2022 (eight years post-launch), Vula processed over 1 million patient referrals, now handling referrals at a rate exceeding one per minute, with a national user network of around 30,000 healthcare professionals.

This challenge rewards healthtech solutions that use data to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes. Vula Medical was awarded for its use of referral data to enhance patient care pathways and strengthen collaboration between healthcare sectors.

The Horizon Prize honours solutions that make a significant impact on diagnosing and treating rare diseases worldwide. Vula Medical won for its platform’s ability to connect healthcare providers and specialists, enabling faster, more accurate referrals for patients with rare conditions.

The Aspire Coronation Trust Changemaker Innovation Challenge identifies and supports African innovations that address pressing social challenges. Vula Medical was recognised as first runner up for its innovative healthcare referral platform that improves access to specialist care across South Africa.

The Vula team celebrated a major milestone, surpassing 2 million Vulas (referrals). This achievement magnifies the platform’s rapid growth: the first million took eight years, while the second million was reached in just two years.