Savannah Informatics: Innovating During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In February 2020, companies around the world contemplated their next moves as the pandemic news grew more grim each day. For Savannah Informatics, one of the first information services firms in Africa’s health care sector, the uncertainties and immediate supply chain challenges prompted nimble moves to make sure the technology continued to perform, but also served as a call to innovate further, and add new digital offerings.

This case study addresses the challenges of new product development in the health care sector, and the complexities of meeting the needs of medical providers, insurance companies, and individual customers. How would the company prioritize its next moves, and expand its technology platform? How could Savannah use its existing data on health care spending in Kenya to map out new products, including health information, telehealth and prescription services, and disease care management? And how could it distinguish its services from new competitors who also saw new demands for innovative health care solutions arising as the COVID-19 pandemic continued.