Entrepreneurial duoSizwe Nzima and Siraaj Adams, owners of Iyeza Health, walked away as the winners of the 2017 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year® title at the annual Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS awards ceremony, held in Johannesburg on 6 September 2017.

Iyeza Health – which started in 2013 as a bicycle courier service delivering chronic medication from health clinics in Khayelitsha to just one client, Sizwe’s grandmother – quickly grew into a fully-fledged specialist health logistics company directly servicing 1 000 patients in the same area.

Following this successful expansion, the business further diversified and today their clientele also includes the private sector, having secured contracts with medical aid companies. This growth has enabled Iyeza Health to further link their logistics services with doctors, clinics and hospitals, as well as patients.

Apart from growing their customer base, Sizwe and Siraaj have also evolved their business model to include digital healthcare software and medical devices to assist people with diagnostic self-testing at home and, in doing so, have provided a convenient channel for proactive and preventative screening and care.

This software includes the Iyeza Health web-based platform, HIV Self Testing (hivselftesting.co.za) which enables customers to utilise the business’ services, such as ordering HIV self-testing kits, thereby offering accessible alternatives to the current status quo in the pharmaceutical distribution and supply chain.

Due to the duo’s hard work, innovation and dedication, this web-based platform is now the leading e-commerce platform for HIV self-testing in South Africa, with over 3000 kits being distributed per month. In addition to this, their website platform has also been adopted by the National Department of Health.

In addition, there is also a unique, integrated medical aid claim functionality built into the platform for customer convenience and once an order has been placed for a medical device, Iyeza Health is able to distribute the order nationally within two working days.

The Entrepreneur of the Year® competition judging panel was particularly impressed with the fact that Iyeza Health has not only contributed to solving a challenge within the health department, but that they are also providing a necessary service to the country. “Government pharmacies and hospitals are struggling to keep up with public demand, so what Iyeza Health has achieved in such a short period is already promoting social change within South Africa,” said the judges.

In response to the judge’s accolades, the emerging entrepreneurs say they remain committed to changing the face of public health in South Africa and intend to continue developing useful clinical mobile applications in order to improve health management in underprivileged communities.

For more information on Sizwe and Siraaj’s business, please visit the Iyeza Health website: www.iyezahealth.co.za.