Graham Rowe (CEO) and Richard Johnson (COO), founders of Johannesburg-based diabetes care company Guidepost, have been selected to join the global entrepreneurship network, Endeavor.
Rowe and Johnson, the only local entrepreneurs selected, are among 28 business owners from 20 companies in 15 countries chosen by Endeavor at the 71st International Selection Panel held last month in Canary Wharf, London.
Endeavor is a global entrepreneurship movement that runs an on-going selection of scale-up companies from across the world. To date, the organisation has selected about 1 000 companies from 32 countries, which have received mentorship and support from the global network of mentors and business leaders.
With its selection as Endeavor entrepreneurs, Guidepost will receive on-going mentorship and an opportunity to receive investment from the initiative.
"Accessing Endeavor's fantastic global networks of customers, industry experts and investors will allow us to rapidly increase the rate at which we can grow, create jobs and provide care to patients in need," says Rowe.
Founded in 2012 under the registration name Sancreed, Guidepost connects people who have type-two diabetes to their own personal nursing coach. The software guides nurses and medical assistants in a series of consultations with over 6 000 patients in SA, to help them overcome the barriers to achieving good health.
"Diabetes costs South African medical schemes more than R13 billion every year. Most of that money is spent on hospitalisations that would not be necessary if patients had the right support to keep their disease under control. Even though patients are diagnosed correctly by their doctor and get the right benefits from their medical aid, they often struggle to make the changes required to get their diabetes under control. Guidepost's software and nurse network are at the forefront of technology innovations to address this epidemic," explains Rowe.
Guidepost, he continues, has a network of 16 expert diabetes nurses who connect with patients over the phone to help them manage their condition.
"When we started five years ago, we realised we needed to focus on empowering expert nurses - and we've built a unique software platform and set of clinical algorithms that unleash healthcare professionals to solve patient problems rapidly and effectively," adds Johnson.
Endeavor will provide the entrepreneurs with assistance in raising capital and its global customer network will be very useful to Sancreed, Johnson points out.
The company is expanding abroad, with a live pilot in London, and is also collaborating on a clinical trial in Scotland.
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