Nairobi Home Health Care launches a revolution

Photo courtesy of Amref International University.

Congratulations to Nairobi Home Health Care, first-place winner of the ‘From Idea to Impact – Building a Public Health Social Enterprise’ business plan competition! 

Today in Kenya, there is a surging demand for home-based healthcare due to an aging population, a high burden of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, and limited hospital capacity. Many patients who are discharged from hospital require continued medical support – yet access to home health care is not guaranteed. 
 
Enter Nairobi Home Health Care. The new enterprise will provide dignified, compassionate home-based care, beginning this year with four core services: Basic post-surgical wound dressing, chronic wound management, medication administration and palliative care. 

“Nairobi Home Health Care helps solve key healthcare challenges by reducing hospital overcrowding, bringing affordable care to patients at home, and creating jobs for unemployed medical practitioners,” says Maureen Waithera. 

Maureen and co-founders Mohamed Yunus, Simon Gitau and Benard Ayieko built their business plan during the year-long ‘From Idea to Impact’ entrepreneurship education program offered by Amref International University (AMIU) and the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation. They will use the seed funding they earned in the program’s business plan competition to launch their enterprise. 

“By making healthcare more accessible, cost-effective, and patient-centered, it strengthens the overall health system and improves people’s quality of life,” says Maureen. 

Another strength of the Nairobi Home Health Care solution is that it will be integrated with the national health insurance system. 

Mohamed explains. “During my nursing training, working in the wards and caring for patients gave me a deep sense of fulfillment. However, I was driven by a desire to make a broader, tangible impact within Kenya’s healthcare system. This led me to explore meaningful solutions that can create lasting change.” 

Next year, the team plans to add diabetic foot care to the Nairobi Home Health Care line of offerings. The founders also intend to widen the geographic scope from Nairobi County to surrounding regions as they grow. 

“Our goal is to become a leading brand in the provision of home healthcare in Kenya and across Africa through compassionate and dignified care. Through this, we aim to revolutionize the healthcare system and improve people’s quality of life,” says Maureen.

 
Next steps 

Nairobi Home Health Care is moving into the implementation phase, allocating seed funds to acquire essential equipment and cover initial operating costs. Home-health nursing bags, a blood pressure machine, a stethoscope, a glucometer, and a pulse oximeter, for example, are needed to begin.   

At the same time, says Benard, the team will be “building partnerships with hospitals and referral channels in Nairobi.” This, he says, will accomplish the dual purpose of developing a pipeline of patients and establishing Nairobi Home Health Care as a trusted service provider. 

Initially, the founders will conduct patient care themselves. They aim to hire nurses and other practitioners such as physiotherapists as they expand, enabling Nairobi Home Health Care to bring a full range of health services to patients. 

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs  

“The world needs your solutions however insignificant you may think they are. What stands between you and the world appreciating your idea is structuring it into a consumer-ready solution. Embrace the process and have the endurance to bring it to life,” says Simon. 

Discover more about the 'From Idea to Impact' education program here.