Quality private healthcare in South Africa is costly and has become a luxury available to those who can afford it. Only 16% of the population can afford it ,while the remaining 84% rely on the public sector healthcare system which is chronically underfunded, overcrowded and understaffed.
RH is a licenced discretionary fund manager that is building a product that will introduce affordable healthcare in South Africa. This product will bring more people into the private health care sector at considerably lower costs. This will in turn put the pressure off the public health care system.
Currently, the biggest hurdle in implementing this product is capital. Over the next couple of years RH Managers aims to increase the capital allocated to them by proving to investors that investing in cheaper healthcare is a viable business investment.
The second constraint is the know-how of developing the healthcare echo system. RH Manager plans to create a stable platform in 2017 and then expanding it to Sub-Saharan Africa. They aim to be the dominant black-owned hospital group in South Africa in the next 3 to 5 years and then moving on to the rest of Africa.
“There is always the hurdle of ‘have you done it before, do you have the experience’ from investors. Investors need to spend more time on newer platforms, that’s the only way you can achieve better and cheaper innovation. The ultimate investor is one that appreciates a new way of doing things that can make a difference. That is where smart money should go.’’
– Quinton Zunga CEO of RH Managers and RH Bophelo.