Creating access to sexual healthcare from Diepsloot to Sandton with 'Uber for the Pill' – Contro CEO Alex Schmidt

Virtual health has been heralded for the past 10-15 years as the next disrupter of healthcare, but the uptake was slow until Covid-19. The pandemic served as an accelerator for healthcare providers and patients to adopt telemedicine. In a 2022 report, McKinsey concluded that, “the opportunity for technology and life sciences companies to address health equity challenges with digital innovation is immense.” In South Africa, health-tech founder, Alex Schmidt saw an opportunity when he realised that the process of accessing the contraceptive pill could be lengthy and embarrassing and he launched a sexual health platform, called Contro in 2021. Schmidt told BizNews that they have treated more than 3000 patients and that 30% of them are in townships and rural areas. He said that Contro, which he described as ‘Uber for the Pill’, wants to expand its services and it has attracted the interest of large corporate entities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices