At Kromium Health, we aim to address Africa’s challenging sexual and mental healthcare issues as we strive to create a healthier future for all through technology and data. Our goal is to make a positive impact by providing technological solutions for affordable, efficient, and high-quality healthcare in emerging markets.
Kromium Health was co-founded by Olumayowa Ogunwemimo, a medical doctor, and Mayowa Oyatogun, who oversees the Product and Business Strategy. Damilola Ojo serves as the VP of Product. Kromium Health is committed to health inclusivity, with its chatbot available in Nigeria’s local dialects, such as Pidgin, Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba, making it accessible across the country. Oyatogun stated, ‘Kromium Health intends to address this healthcare challenge with a conversational artificial intelligence chatbot named “Dr. Lola,” available on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram available in different local languages’
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‘With our solution, we aim to eliminate delays in medical consultations, reduce the doctor-to-patient ratio, decrease out-of-pocket expenses, and bridge the gap in the impending healthcare worker shortage,’ Ogunwemimo said. The chatbot, ‘Dr. Lola,’ offers 24/7 care, providing emotional and physical well-being support, which enhances treatment adherence. This chatbot also enhances physician efficiency and prevents burnout.
‘Dr. Lola’ is playing her role to reducing healthcare professionals’ workload by minimizing hospital visits, unnecessary treatments and procedures, and reducing hospital admissions and readmissions. As a result, treatment compliance and knowledge about symptoms have improved. For patients, this offers numerous benefits, such as the ability to answer questions tirelessly in a soothing and cheerful tone, providing patients with a sense of anonymity and the freedom to openly discuss their health. The chatbot also ensures consistency in communication with all patients, free from biases or personal issues that could affect performance.
“Currently, we have 935 average daily users utilizing the chatbot across different platforms, such as Facebook and Telegram. We anticipate further growth due to the value the platform adds for potential users,” Ogunwemimo added. Users will experience a reduced need to visit a doctor or mental health practitioner for their health challenges. The average year-on-year increase in patient uptake clearly indicates the viability of the business in the medium to long term.
The business is innovative as it enables users to receive real-time diagnoses and improves health inclusion by providing content in languages where healthcare access is a challenge. These innovations reduce costs and save man-hours while enhancing the quality of care that patients receive. ‘We believe we are providing a vital service to a healthcare industry in need of change, especially at a time when the doctor-to-patient ratio has significantly declined due to doctors relocating,’ Ojo added.
Kromium Health is in the process of raising a $185,000 round of pre-seed funding, and the deal is expected to conclude soon. While we are headquartered in Nigeria, we have a strong focus on our expansion strategy on the African continent with additional attention to developed countries with a significant African resident population.
“Despite market opportunities, the market faces high inflation and stagnant income, which has the potential to erode the disposable income of the average user, creating a scaling challenge. However, we believe the value derived from using ‘Dr. Lola’ will continue to make a compelling case for the product,” Oyatogun said.
