In order to keep a clear perspective of life, one needs friends, family and partners. All of which create a platform for your own moral compass and direction. So too is this true in the business world! Our friends and family are there to lean on, hear our gripes and share in our success. Partners are there to facilitate a set of outcomes that no single party could achieve without the other. Some to a greater or lesser extent, but none-the-less partnerships are absolutely crucial to the delivery of intricate products.
The mHealth ecosystem partnership, which sits under the GSMA’s Pan-African mHealth Initiative (PAMI) is such a product, service and unlimited game-changer.
The initial committed partners have ambitious goals and a willingness to think big. Together we have convened a set of objectives, commitments and in turn, a set of product concepts that will ultimately create value not only for the end user (patient and Community Health Worker (CHW)), for the partners themselves and their brands, but also for each other. That being said, and to complement the nature of partnerships, this is a non-exclusive set of partners that create a dynamic ecosystem. The more partners, be they in competition or complementary, the more valuable the ecosystem becomes.
Having launched the partnership at the end of June (see press release), the process is now becoming increasing complicated. To manage this, together we are already working on producing a set of guiding principles and a governance process that will strive to eliminate potential problems and highlight solutions.
Ghana (see recent blog post) has been identified as the first launch country within phase 1. We will launch a set of products and services in the form of a Proof of Concept (PoC). This will not only become the template but also the precedent and hopefully prove value to users and indeed to new potential partners.
Within the PoC process, although we have much in-depth research that demonstrates the use cases for mobile in the field of health, we are mindful of the fact that users can become distracted by the device or worse still, think they know all of the answers to their respective health issues because of the clever device. This is why we are making great efforts to facilitate a set of CHW tools that will emphasis the value of their skills to the patient and the supporting role that they play in the health ecosystem and continuum of care. They too are partners.
If the GSMA mHealth ecosystem partnership helps the wider health ecosystem and a symbiosis is achieved, then… it’s a huge deal, partner.
Figure: PAMI mHealth Ecosystem – Value Chain
Photo (top): Bennie, who lives in Accra, is a trusted partner to his wife and a real man
For more information on the GSMA Mobile for Development mHealth, please contact us on mhealth@gsma.com. For information on various mHealth initiatives, click here. For more information on GSMA mHealth resources, click here.