Zimpapers Logo

Sifelani Tsiko
Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor

Software engineering is rapidly changing and improving healthcare systems in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in profound ways.

Advancements in technology are paving the way for innovative solutions that increase access to care, reduce costs, improve outcomes and empower patients.

It is encouraging to learn that a UK-based Zimbabwean software engineer, Blessing Museki (50), has developed a new digital platform, Cloomi, an innovative healthcare software solution that has become a game — changer. Herald Innovations Editor Sifelani Tsiko (ST), speaks to Blessing Museki (BM) about how software engineering in healthcare is paving the way for more efficient, effective, accessible and patient — centred healthcare.

***

ST: Can you tell us briefly about yourself?

BM: My name is Blessing Museki. I went to Northlea High School in Bulawayo. After I finished my A ‘Levels, I enrolled for a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Zimbabwe in 1994. After completing my degree, I worked for Econet Wireless as a software engineer and was involved in some of the company’s early innovations. After moving to London in 2005 and completing an MSc in Financial Markets from London Metropolitan University, I worked for some of the city’s top financial institutions, the likes of London Stock Exchange, Barclays Bank and BNP Paribas, Europe’s largest bank. In November 2023 I started working on Cloomi, my own software solutions company.

ST: What motivated you to develop Cloomi — the WhatsApp chatbot?

BM:  Living in the Diaspora I often find myself having to buy medication for family members back home. Cloomi started when I noticed how difficult it was to secure essential drugs in a timely fashion, at affordable prices. It often meant people toiling from pharmacy to pharmacy — in scorching heat — with a prescription in hand, inquiring on availability and price. For me the challenge was to create a widely-accessible platform for real-time access to essential healthcare services, while also solving for the uniquely Zimbabwean challenge where internet access via the web browser is slow, unreliable, and expensive. With over 50 percent effective user penetration in Zimbabwe, lower data costs, and high transaction fidelity, WhatsApp was the obvious medium of choice.

ST: How does Cloomi, your Whatsapp Chatbot work?

BM:  Cloomi is a digital health platform that anonymously connects Zimbabweans to healthcare providers via an intelligent WhatsApp chatbot https://wa.me/263788257164. Users interact with Cloomi like one would with their WhatsApp friends, starting the conversation with a Hi and following the chatbot’s prompts, supplying the target search location and the medication/service they are looking for, in text or picture format, with the patient’s identity hidden/withheld.

Instantly, subscribed pharmacies in the target location anonymously receive the request and can respond via quick reply buttons YES, NO, or NOT RELEVANT.

Only YES responses are sent back to the user, together with the contact details of the provider. Providers can also, optionally, send extra details, such as price.

ST: When did you launch Cloomi in Zimbabwe? What has success been like?

BM: The response has been amazing, from both sides of the platform. We launched it in January 2024. We started rolling it out in Harare and then Bulawayo. We only went countrywide in March this year. Cloomi now boasts over 200 pharmacies, 10 medical laboratories and a searchable database of over 700 registered healthcare practitioners across Zimbabwe. We have made over 5 000 successful matches since launch, with users receiving responses within minutes during the day on regular working days.

ST: How much do your clients pay at least? What is your revenue model like?

BM: We are not charging providers at the moment, but even when we do, there will always be a lower, free tier. There are various ways we intend to monetise. At the moment it is all about getting users on board. We operate on a freemium model, with free entry level for all providers and we intend to have (optional) paid premium services to include sponsored search whereby non-medical businesses sponsor searches, featured/highlighted provider, B2C and B2B transaction fees (starting with diaspora), selling data/insights to manufacturers and wholesalers — and subscription fees for booking services for service providers.

ST: Do you operate the company from the UK or do you also have local support?

BM:  We have local support. I travel between Zim and the UK. At present, we have temporary staff only. Mostly students have helped us with our outreach programmes. We are trying to raise some funding, so we can put a strong team on the ground.

ST: What challenges are you facing as you work to expand your operations in Zimbabwe?

BM:  I think we need more exposure to reach a larger audience. We also need more providers in smaller towns, more 24/7 providers, especially for pharmacies. Users are asking 24/7, but there’s not always providers available to answer during nights, weekends or public holidays.

ST: What are the national benefits of this new application — Cloomi?

BM:  A healthy nation is a productive nation and Cloomi significantly lowers cost and time barriers to healthcare access. Health is one of 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Cloomi saves patients time, money and the trouble of looking for essential healthcare. Instead of hopping from provider to provider like headless chickens, with Cloomi it takes less than a minute to submit a request to all providers within a given location.

WhatsApp is a perfect medium to help enhance healthcare access in Zimbabwe, empowering people to get help using a tool they are familiar with, from the comfort of their homes, at the cheapest data costs available.

By providing predictive intelligence on drug shortages and early-warning alerts, Cloomi boosts pre-pandemic preparedness and crisis-era resilience.

ST: What do you think Zimbabwe needs to do to fully embrace new digital innovations to develop its healthcare sector?

BM:  Digital innovation in health is accelerating, thanks to Covid-19 and we expect the trend to accelerate. The Government should lead the development and expansion of digital platforms to enhance healthcare services through the establishment of a conducive environment and permissive legislation. So it is encouraging to hear our ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera talking about the move towards telemedicine.

It is also pleasing to learn that the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals has launched a Telemedicine and Education Centre to revolutionise healthcare delivery in Zimbabwe. Telemedicine has been invaluable in increasing healthcare access, especially for those in rural or underserved communities who live far from medical facilities. All this is a positive trajectory for the country.

ST: Looking ahead, what will be the role of new digital innovations in the healthcare sector? What are your future plans like?

BM:  We must continue to harness software solutions using various healthcare software tools which are revolutionising the healthcare field that include electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, wearable devices, prescription management tools, robotics, artificial intelligence, data analytics and patient engagement platforms. With all this, healthcare providers can deliver the right care to the right patients at the right time. One thing, we want to add other facets of health. We already have some medical labs and we also want our users to be able to search for registered medical practitioners. The next category is diagnostic imaging centres.