In the latest episode of Connecting Africa, CNN’s Victoria Rubadiri explores how Kenyan technology companies are helping fill critical gaps in emergency response services across the continent.
Many African countries continue to lack public emergency medical services (EMS), with private providers filling the gap. In Kenya, where the government just introduced its first national emergency response system, private companies have long operated independently to provide life-saving care.
One such company is Pulse Emergency Medical Response (Pulse EMR). Margaret Gitau, its founder and CEO, says reaching patients can be a big challenge, especially in remote and underserved areas. Network outages, unstable power, and dead phone batteries often make it difficult for responders to find people in need.
“Some areas of the country are experiencing network power outages, which can cause delays and even power issues,” Gitau explains. “Someone needs help, and when they get to their destination, they find out their phone is turned off. So it becomes a little bit difficult to even find that person.”
To overcome these obstacles, first responders are increasingly turning to technology platforms like AURA. AURA is a Kenyan-founded emergency response app designed to connect people in distress with vetted civilian responders.
AURA’s Kenya Country Manager Victor Odera said the platform uses GPS technology to build a bridge between people in need and emergency medical providers. “By connecting users to a network of vetted private emergency response providers, we provide access to these emergency services, precise GPS location, anytime, anywhere,” he says.
In Kenya, AURA partners with dozens of private emergency response companies operating in more than 40 cities and towns. Services range from roadside assistance to emergency medical care. Unlike many of our competitors, AURA diversifies the ways users access help.
“We can accommodate people who don’t want to download an application,” Otera explains. “We have the phone modality. We are now also looking at panic buttons and wearables like smartwatches. We can get our products and solutions into the hands of many people through very different and very diverse channels.”
CNN’s Eleni Giokos spoke with AURA co-founder and CEO Warren Myers to reflect on the issues that led him to form AURA in 2017. At the time, access to emergency aid lagged far behind everyday conveniences.
“People will be able to get a cab or a pizza faster than they can call for help in a dying or emergency situation,” Myers said. “That obviously didn’t make sense.”
AURA is built as a platform marketplace, providing technical access to a wide range of users while linking to emergency responders. Myers says the goal has always been to democratize access to emergency response services, especially in areas with limited public infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Myers said the company is focused on expanding its footprint across the continent. AURA already operates in several African countries, but has its sights firmly set on new markets.
“At the moment, we have not expanded into northern Saharan countries such as Morocco and Egypt, which are very growing markets,” he says. “The same goes for French-speaking countries. This is a new frontier. We are strengthening the partnerships that will enable our services across these regions and enable us to deliver across Africa.”
As Kenya continues to develop its national emergency response framework, platforms like AURA play a critical role in ensuring aid reaches those who need it most quickly and accurately across borders.
