DYDX, a digital transformation practice based in Cape Town, partnered with Beninese-French visionary Bola Bardet to create and launch Susu Healthcare.
The first-of-its-kind full-service digital healthcare company was taken from concept to launch in less than 18 months.
Susu, which recently won the Sanofi in Africa Health Challenge at the Vivatech 2019 Conference in Paris, provides a combination of insurance coverage and medical services to the families of the African diaspora in Europe.
“DYDX used a service design process to develop Susu’s products and services,” says Nevo Hadas, managing partner at DYDX. “We focused on the different needs of the customer in Europe and the beneficiary in West Africa to design a system that delivers on both.”
Rolling out in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, Susu is meeting a real need for the Ivorian community living in France.
“The African diaspora takes pride in providing financial support to their families left in their home countries, predominantly ageing parents and those with chronic diseases,” explains Bola Bardet, Susu’s founder and chief executive “Money sent back to Africa for healthcare amounts to US$8 billion per year, yet quality healthcare, medication, and insurance is still unavailable in many African countries.”
With this problem in mind, Bardet approached DYDX (then &Innovation), to support her to understand this problem better and co-design a solution.
“Susu healthcare is a game-changer in the world of healthcare services and health insurance,” Hadas says. “We built a cutting-edge digital platform to enhance all its operations and customer experience, but this is just the enabler.
“Its strength isn’t in superior artificial intelligence or crypto currency, but in its dedicated focus on the markets and people that insurance companies ignore or overcharge.”