South African small businesses lose thousands of hours every year when staff wait in long public clinic queues. Research shows that many patients spend an average of two hours 36 minutes just waiting for a doctor in primary care facilities. With so much time lost to travel, queues, and scheduling inefficiencies, workers without medical aid are disproportionately affected. To help mitigate against this, Welo Health launched Welo SME, a subscription service that brings primary healthcare to the shop floor of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with staff who are typically outside medical-aid coverage.
“This is a product by SMEs, for SMEs,” says Zanele Matome, Founder and CEO of Welo Health. “Our teams have been delivering medicine, running screenings, and arranging digital doctor visits since 2020. Welo SME pulls those services into one subscription, so workers do not lose a day’s wages to stand in a clinic queue, and employers do not lose a day of productivity.”
The service bundles six WhatsApp-based doctor consultations per employee per year, on-site nurse wellness checks every six months, and the collection and delivery of chronic medication from public facilities to the workplace, all for R385 per employee per month.
How it works for employees:
- Under the service, employees can consult doctors over WhatsApp, the channel most blue-collar workers already use, and receive prescriptions and sick notes digitally.
- A Welo nurse will visit the workplace twice a year to run standard wellness screens, including blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, and HIV testing where appropriate.
- For employees already on public-sector chronic scripts, Welo collects and delivers medicine on the existing two-to three-month cycles, removing the need for taking time off to fetch refills.
Benefits for employers:
- Pricing and eligibility: R385 per employee per month; minimum six employees per company. Employers can fully sponsor the fee or share the cost 50/50 with staff.
- Verification and absenteeism: Because Welo-affiliated doctors issue the sick notes, employers gain confidence that absence is legitimately managed, addressing the all-too-common “Monday sick note” problem raised by SMEs in hospitality, retail, and light manufacturing.
- Compliance benefits: Depending on structure, spend may support B-BBEE and tax objectives. Welo advises employers to consult their advisors for treatment specific to their circumstances.
Welo SME is aimed at factories, industrial parks, malls, and office-park businesses employing blue-collar teams, who are often referred to as the “missing middle” workers and do not want to rely on public hospitals but also cannot afford medical aid. Sectors include construction, restaurants, logistics, salons, and retail. Early pilot projects include QikTruck, with Welo now moving to a broader commercial rollout.
While demand exists from individuals, Welo SME is currently for employers-only (with a minimum of six employees), so capacity can be focused where it has the most significant immediate impact.
“What sets us apart is simple. No one else is delivering chronic medication from public facilities straight to the workplace as it’s a difficult process. We have done the hard yards and have the secret sauce to make it work,” says Matome.
Welo’s growth journey has been supported and mentored by Aions Ventures, Grindstone Ventures and other notable local and international Investors, which continues to play a key role in helping the company scale its impact and succeed.
