M42, the Abu Dhabi-based health technology company, has its eyes firmly set on Africa. Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Health Summit in Abu Dhabi, Kareem Shahin, CEO of M42's Digital Health Solutions Platform and the group's chief digital officer, said plainly: "The next era of transformation and our focus market in the future will be the African continent."
Shahin points to a few reasons why the timing feels right: growing digitisation across the continent, a young and educated population, and the rapid spread of mobile technology. He believes these forces, combined with recent advances in digital health tools, can reach communities that have historically been underserved, especially people in rural areas who have had limited access to quality care.
The company is already moving beyond vision into action. In August, M42 and Botswana's Ministry of Health signed a ten-year partnership covering a national genomics programme, the digitisation of health records, and improved access to medicines. Shahin confirmed the company is in active conversation with other governments and health authorities across the continent.
Alongside its Africa push, M42 recently announced a partnership with Siemens Healthineers, revealed at the Future Health Summit. The collaboration will bring together population-scale digital health data and AI with advanced imaging and diagnostics to strengthen disease prevention and early screening. Shahin described it as a joining of complementary strengths that could help health systems act earlier.
For all of this to work on the continent, Shahin says governments need to build the right conditions. He is calling for stronger public-private-partnership frameworks, backed by clear legislation and genuine executive sponsorship from the top. The groundwork in Botswana is laid. The question now is which country moves next.
Originally published by African Business.