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Prescribing Security Diagnosing and Treating the IoT Universe in Healthcare by EOS Intelligence
by EOS Intelligence EOS Intelligence No Comments

Prescribing Security: Diagnosing and Treating the IoT Universe in Healthcare

The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) into the healthcare industry has significantly transformed the delivery of medical services, enhanced patient experiences, and revolutionized medical practices. While the benefits of IoT are undeniable, there are challenges that come with its adoption. Issues such as device hacking and data breaches pose significant obstacles that must be addressed. Therefore, it is essential for device manufacturers to design medical devices with caution. By taking a proactive approach and investing in robust cybersecurity measures during the design and development phases, manufacturers can create devices that are more secure and less vulnerable to hacking.

IoT has revolutionized the healthcare industry by enabling medical devices to connect and communicate with each other, as well as with healthcare providers and patients. These devices utilize cloud computing and collect valuable data in real time, allowing for remote monitoring, timely interventions, and personalized care.

The average hospital room worldwide has an estimated 15 to 20 interconnected medical devices. This number is steadily increasing due to the rising adoption of internet-connected devices. The market for IoT medical devices is close to US$40 billion as of 2023. With exponential growth, it is likely to cross US$150 billion over the next five years. This upward trajectory is geared towards reducing healthcare systems’ costs, enhancing patient care, and streamlining clinician workflows.

Healthcare organizations are not immune to cybersecurity breaches

Amid this inevitable growth in adoption, it is crucial to prioritize the security of medical devices to protect patients’ lives, safety, and privacy. While these devices have the potential to streamline and improve treatment, they also pose significant risks due to their susceptibility to cyberattacks.

According to a 2019 report by Fierce Healthcare, 82% of healthcare organizations experienced cyberattacks targeting IoT devices. Moreover, about 53% of medical and IoT devices in hospitals had vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals have honed in on the healthcare industry as a prime target, capitalizing on its perceived lack of robust cybersecurity protocols.

Healthcare bleeds out money without a cybersecurity cure

According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2023 report, the average cost of a cyberattack in the healthcare industry is US$4.45 million per breach, marking a 2.3% increase from the previous year’s average cost of US$4.35 million.

This significant uptick in costs since 2020, when the average overall cost of a data breach was US$3.86 million, represents a substantial 15.3% increase over three years. This growth underscores the importance of prioritizing cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive patient data and ensure the safety and integrity of medical devices in healthcare settings.

Unaddressed IoT challenges in medical devices lead to unauthorized access

Despite the many potential benefits of IoT medical devices in healthcare, the lack of adequate security measures continues to be one of their main challenges. Many devices do not have robust encryption protocols or authentication mechanisms, making them easy targets for hackers.

These vulnerabilities could potentially be exploited to gain unauthorized access to patient information or manipulate the device to deliver harmful treatments. As these devices become more interconnected with other healthcare systems, the potential cyberattacks only increase, posing a serious threat to patient safety.

Prescribing Security Diagnosing and Treating the IoT Universe in Healthcare by EOS Intelligence

Prescribing Security Diagnosing and Treating the IoT Universe in Healthcare by EOS Intelligence

Hackers endanger patients’ health and lives

Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in IoT medical devices to gain access to sensitive patient information, alter treatment settings, or sabotage critical systems. This poses a grave threat to patient safety and privacy, as well as the overall integrity of healthcare infrastructure. Furthermore, since IoT devices are interconnected, a breach in one device could potentially compromise the entire network, leading to widespread disruptions and chaos in healthcare delivery.

One example of such a breach occurred in 2019 at a Springhill Medical Centre in the USA involving a ransomware attack. This attack disabled patient monitors for several days, leading to a substantial impact on patient care. A lawsuit has been filed, alleging that the disabled monitoring devices led to infant death during delivery at the center.

IoT medical devices need improved security to match technological advancements

The rapid pace of technological advancements in IoT medical devices often outpaces the development of security protocols. New features and functionalities are constantly added to these devices to improve patient care.

However, these updates may also introduce additional security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. Many healthcare providers struggle to keep up with these evolving threats and may not have the resources or expertise to effectively secure their IoT devices on an ongoing basis.

Diversity of IoT devices complicates securing healthcare environments

The healthcare environment is characterized by a diverse range of interconnected devices, often developed by various manufacturers with varying security protocols, making it difficult to implement a cohesive security strategy across all devices. This diversity complicates efforts to achieve comprehensive visibility and security, as each device may require distinct monitoring and protection strategies.

Additionally, the sheer number of devices in use within a healthcare facility can overwhelm IT teams responsible for monitoring and securing them, increasing the likelihood of overlooking potential security risks.

Limited downtime poses cybersecurity challenges

IoT medical devices are used continuously in real time, leaving little room for downtime. This lack of downtime poses a challenge for security teams, as they have limited time to analyze the devices and implement necessary patches to ensure their security.

The constant use of these devices in healthcare settings highlights the importance of finding a balance between security and functionality in order to safeguard sensitive patient data and uphold the integrity of the healthcare system.

Devices’ size and continuous connection result in insufficient battery support

Another challenge in the realm of IoT devices is related to their powering. Many of these devices use batteries and their compact size restricts the capacity for large, durable batteries. They need to be constantly connected to transmit data, which continually drains power.

These devices’ limited power and memory make it difficult to incorporate encryption, continuous software updates, and authentication protocols that can protect sensitive patient information from hackers.

Durability of IoT medical devices poses a security risk

Additionally, IoT medical devices are engineered to have a long lifespan. Their durability can pose a security risk. Once a vendor ceases production or stops releasing updates for these devices, hospitals may continue to rely on outdated technology, making them vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Hospitals must play a role in safeguarding their IoT device systems

Securing healthcare IoT devices can be a complex task, but it is essential to implement a variety of solutions to guarantee their security.

Part of this responsibility lies on the healthcare institutions themselves. Hospitals must ensure regular software updates, avoid default settings, and provide comprehensive training to staff members. Healthcare providers must implement unique and multilayered login structures for every device, such as two-step logins, hard-coded passwords, firewalls, and fingerprint checks to ensure that patient information is securely stored.

Leading players’ solutions increase devices’ resilience to breaches

Advanced and complex security solutions

Prominent vendors, such as Medigate, Medcrypt, and Cynerio, provide advanced platforms designed to assist healthcare organizations in safeguarding their networks and connected medical devices.

These security vendors offer complex security solutions, including real-time threat detection, device monitoring, network activity visibility to medical device manufacturers, and vulnerability management solutions to enable healthcare providers to effectively identify and mitigate potential risks associated with their connected medical devices.

Detection and recovery plan

Cybersecurity providers are generally vigilant in offering detection and recovery services to safeguard medical assets and systems around the clock. In the event of a security breach, they must be able to swiftly implement response and recovery plans to mitigate the impact. With a focus on healthcare, they must be able to identify issues efficiently without overwhelming users with excessive information. They need to aim at taking instant action to restore normalcy as quickly as possible.

Network segmentation

Another important solution players should provide is network segmentation, which involves dividing devices into separate, private wireless networks to protect data in the event of a cyberattack. Firewalls and multi-factor authentication can achieve this. By segmenting the network into distinct zones, healthcare providers can isolate medical devices from other parts of the network, reducing the risk of a cyberattack spreading across the entire network. This segmentation also allows for more granular control over medical devices, limiting the potential for unauthorized access or tampering.

Modern network segmentation for medical devices now relies on technologies such as virtual LANs and subnets to keep up with advanced cyber threats. For instance, Cisco Systems, a multinational technology conglomerate, offers medical device security solutions whose key aspect is network segmentation. Cisco also provides specialized monitoring and analytics tools to assist healthcare organizations in detecting and responding to security incidents in real time. These tools can identify abnormal behavior on the network, alerting security teams to potential threats before they can cause harm.

AI technology and machine learning

IoT device security providers, such as IBM Corporation, Cylera, CyberMDX, Sternum, ClearDATA, and Palo Alto Networks, place emphasis on conducting comprehensive risk assessments during software validation to guarantee devices’ security. In the event of new cyberattacks, these providers inform stakeholders and offer solutions, such as security updates. They have integrated programs that utilize AI technology and machine learning to proactively manage risks and stay ahead of cybersecurity threats.

Security vendors contribute to IoT device safety protocols transformation

The cybersecurity industry is currently experiencing a surge of new companies that are transforming security protocols. Armis, a leading US-based asset intelligence cybersecurity company and provider of agentless device security solutions, is spearheading this movement.

Notably, Medtronic and Zimmer Biomet have incorporated Armis’ security platform into their products, such as insulin pumps and orthopedic devices. Armis offers the Armis Centrix platform, powered by the Armis AI-driven Asset Intelligence Engine. The platform has the capability to detect breaches, run routine security scans or updates, maintain asset visibility, identify blind spots, optimize resource allocation, and perform essential maintenance. Armis’ solutions encompass advanced threat intelligence and machine learning features, enabling the system to adapt to new and emerging threats. This proactive cybersecurity approach is essential in the healthcare sector, where any disruption or compromising of medical devices could have severe repercussions.

Collaboration is key to effectively managing cyberattacks

Collaborations between medical device manufacturers and cybersecurity vendors to combat IoT medical device hacking have great potential. It also facilitates the sharing of threat intelligence and best practices, enabling vendors and manufacturers to proactively address emerging threats and vulnerabilities. Their collaborative efforts center on safeguarding critical devices from cyber risks by implementing protective measures for both the devices and the data they collect.

Philips partnered with CyberMDX to create a vendor-neutral cybersecurity service

In November 2020, Philips, a prominent player in healthcare technology, partnered with CyberMDX, a cybersecurity expert specializing in medical devices. This partnership focused on enhancing the security of connected medical devices and systems, essential for protecting patient data and for the smooth operation of healthcare facilities.

Drawing from Philips’ industry expertise and CyberMDX’s cybersecurity solutions, together they provide vendor-neutral options to protect IoT medical devices. They focus on managing connected devices in hospital settings, whether they are managed or unmanaged, by utilizing a combination of risk assessment, detection, threat intelligence, and prevention capabilities in the constantly evolving healthcare technology landscape.

Medcrypt collaborated with NetRise to address cybersecurity issues

In August 2023, Medcrypt, a US-based proactive cybersecurity provider, partnered with NetRise, another US-based cybersecurity company. By combining Medcrypt’s experience in identifying and managing vulnerabilities with NetRise’s ability to develop Mobile Device Management software featuring a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for embedded devices and firmware, medical device manufacturers now have access to a comprehensive solution to protect their devices from potential cyber threats throughout their lifecycle.

Medcrypt integrated NetRise’s SBOM generation capabilities into the Helm tool, enabling continuous integration, analysis, and transparency of the ever-changing state of medical device software. This integration facilitates the proactive identification and mitigation of the most exploitable vulnerabilities, extending support for SBOMs across the entire lifecycle of medical devices. The resulting solution empowers medical device manufacturers to create, ingest, enhance, manage, and monitor SBOMs, providing invaluable insights into the vulnerabilities present in their embedded devices and firmware. This collaboration represents a significant advancement in bolstering cybersecurity measures within the healthcare industry.

The industry is moving towards Trojan-free devices to safeguard against cyberattacks

Among the various cybersecurity threats faced by IoT medical devices, hardware Trojans are emerging as a grave concern. Hardware Trojans involve the deliberate manipulation of an integrated circuit or electronic device to compromise its security features or functionality.

Hardware Trojans are typically small in size, consist of only a few gates, and alter the device chip’s functionality. Due to their small size, hardware Trojans are challenging to detect using traditional offline methods such as side-channel analysis or digital systems testing. As a result, the healthcare industry is increasingly prioritizing the development of Trojan-free medical devices to enhance the security of IoT medical devices.

Unlike other medical devices, Trojan-free devices are highly secure and challenging to breach. Attackers would need a high level of expertise to understand the device’s design blueprint through reverse engineering and then create a manipulation that can only be triggered under specific conditions.

Moreover, the development of Trojan-free medical devices presents a unique opportunity for manufacturers to drive innovation, improve patient care, advance cybersecurity solutions, and shape regulatory standards.

One example of a Trojan-free medical device is the Philips IntelliVue patient monitor, which tracks patients’ vital signs and provide real-time data. This device works with advanced network security measures, including firewalls, encryption, and intrusion detection/prevention systems, to safeguard against unauthorized access and malware infiltration. Its cybersecurity features are specifically designed to protect against potential threats such as unauthorized access and data breaches.

Boston Scientific’s S-ICD implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is another Trojan-free medical device. It treats patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest by delivering an electric shock to restore normal heart rhythm. This device employs encryption to secure communication between the device and the programmer and authentication protocols to ensure that only authorized healthcare professionals can access and control it.

EOS Perspective

IoT has transformed numerous industries, with healthcare being no exception. In the realm of healthcare, IoT medical devices utilized in virtual wards, such as remote monitoring devices and wearable sensors, are susceptible to cyberattacks. These attacks can result in unauthorized access, data tampering, and disruption of patient care. Detecting and responding to cyber threats targeting medical devices is crucial.

To combat these threats, security vendors employed prevention systems, anomaly detection algorithms, and advanced analytics to identify potential cyberattacks and abnormal device behavior. Implementing robust incident response plans, conducting simulated exercises, and utilizing strong device security measures is imperative to safeguard against device-level cyber risks.

The field of cybersecurity in healthcare is intricate and constantly evolving. Addressing cybersecurity risks necessitates a comprehensive approach that encompasses technology, policies, regulations, and education. Continuous collaboration, vigilance, and adaptation to emerging threats are essential to ensure the security and safety of medical devices in the future.

Moreover, healthcare facilities must prioritize the implementation of robust device security risk management practices. This involves establishing standard protocols, automating device isolation, utilizing asset intelligence to minimize security breaches, and ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA, FDA, ISO 13485, and HITRUST when acquiring and managing connected medical devices.

In addition, healthcare facilities must provide comprehensive training to professionals who work with these devices on cybersecurity best practices and identifying potential security threats.

Collaboration between healthcare providers, device manufacturers, cybersecurity experts, and regulatory bodies is essential for enhancing the security of medical IoT devices. By sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices, stakeholders can collectively address vulnerabilities and safeguard healthcare systems.

Their collaborative efforts facilitate the adoption of SBOM formats, threat modeling processes, Secure Product Development Framework, encryption technologies, AI-based anomaly detection, regulatory frameworks, and secure hardware modules. This approach ensures a more secure environment for medical IoT devices and ultimately protects patient data and healthcare systems from potential cyber threats.

Innovations such as blockchain technology, biometric authentication, predictive analytics, regular patching or updates, and Trojan-free medical devices offer promising opportunities to enhance security measures in the healthcare sector. Trojan-free medical devices, in particular, show great potential in safeguarding patient data, ensuring device integrity, and maintaining the trustworthiness of healthcare technology. This not only improves device reliability but also reduces downtime, benefiting both patients and healthcare providers. This is likely the direction the industry will take in the long run.

By prioritizing proactive cybersecurity measures and compliance with regulations, healthcare security providers can offer potential solutions to enhance the security and integrity of medical devices and the data they handle.

Scarcity Breeds Innovation - The Rising Adoption of Health Tech in Africa by EOS Intelligence
by EOS Intelligence EOS Intelligence No Comments

Scarcity Breeds Innovation – The Rising Adoption of Health Tech in Africa

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Africa carries the world’s highest burden of disease and experiences a severe shortage of healthcare workers. Across the continent, accessibility to primary healthcare remains to be a major challenge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several health tech companies emerged and offered new possibilities for improving healthcare access. Among these, telemedicine and drug distribution services were able to address the shortage of health workers and healthcare facilities across many countries. New health tech solutions such as remote health monitoring, hospital automation, and virtual health assistance that are backed by AI, IoT, and predictive analytics are proving to further improve health systems in terms of costs, access, and workload on health workers. Given the diversity in per capita income, infrastructure, and policies among African countries, it remains to be seen if health tech companies can overcome these challenges and expand their reach across the continent.

Africa is the second most populated continent with a population of 1.4 billion, growing three times faster than the global average. Amid the high population growth, Africa suffers from a high prevalence of diseases. Infectious diseases such as malaria and respiratory infections contribute to 80% of the total infectious disease burden, which indicates the sum of morbidity and mortality in the world. Non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes accounted for about 50% of total deaths in 2022. High rates of urbanization also pose the threat of spreading communicable diseases such as COVID-19, Ebola, and monkey fever.

A region where healthcare must be well-accessible is indeed ill-equipped due to limited healthcare infrastructure and the shortage of healthcare workers. According to WHO, the average doctor-to-population ratio in Africa is about two doctors to 10,000 people, compared with 35.5 doctors to 10,000 people in the USA.

Poor infrastructure and lack of investments worsen the health systems. Healthcare expenditure (aggregate public healthcare spending) in African countries is 20-25 times lower than the healthcare expenditure in European countries. Governments here typically spend about 5% of GDP on healthcare, compared with 10% of GDP spent by European countries. Private investment in Africa is less than 25% of the total healthcare investments.

Further, healthcare infrastructure is unevenly distributed. Professional healthcare services are concentrated in urban areas, leaving 56% of the rural population unable to access proper healthcare. There are severe gaps in the number of healthcare units, diagnostic centers, and the supply of medical devices and drugs. Countries such as Zambia, Malawi, and Angola are placed below the rank of 180 among 190 countries ranked by the WHO in terms of health systems. Low spending power and poor national health insurance schemes discourage people from using healthcare services.

Health tech solutions’ potential to fill the healthcare system gaps

As the prevailing health systems are inadequate, there is a strong need for digital solutions to address these gaps. Health tech solutions can significantly improve the access to healthcare services (consultation, diagnosis, and treatment) and supply of medical devices and drugs.

Health tech solutions can significantly improve the access to healthcare services (consultation, diagnosis, and treatment) and supply of medical devices and drugs.

For instance, Mobihealth, a UK-based digital health platform founded in 2017, is revolutionizing access to healthcare across Africa through its telemedicine app, which connects patients to over 100,000 physicians from various parts of the world for video consultations. The app has significantly (by over 60%) reduced hospital congestion.

Another example is the use of drones in Malawi to monitor mosquito breeding grounds and deliver urgent medical supplies. This project, which was introduced by UNICEF in 2017, has helped to curb the spread of malaria, which typically affects the people living in such areas at least 2-3 times a year.

MomConnect, a platform launched in 2014 by the Department of Health in South Africa, is helping millions of expectant mothers by providing essential information through a digital health desk.

While these are some of the pioneers in the health-tech industry, new companies such as Zuri Health, a telemedicine company founded in Kenya in 2020, and Ingress Healthcare, a doctor appointment booking platform launched in South Africa in 2019, are also strengthening the healthcare sector. A study published by WHO in 2020 indicated that telemedicine could reduce mortality rates by about 30% in Africa.

The rapid rise of health tech transforming the African healthcare landscape

Digital health solutions started to emerge during the late 2000’s in Africa. Wisepill, a South African smart pill box manufacturing company established in 2007, is one of the earliest African health tech success stories. The company developed smart storage containers that alert users on their mobile devices when they forget to take their medication. The product is widely used in South Africa and Uganda.

The industry gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the emergence of several health tech companies offering remote health services. The market experienced about 300% increase in demand for remote healthcare services such as telemedicine, health monitoring, and medicine distribution.

According to WHO, the COVID pandemic resulted in the development of over 120 health tech innovations in Africa. Some of the health tech start-ups that emerged during the pandemic include Zuri Health (Kenya), Waspito (Cameroon), and Ilara Health (Kenya). Several established companies also developed specific solutions to tackle the spread of COVID-19 and increase their user base. For instance, Redbird, a Ghanaian health monitoring company founded in 2018, gained user attention by launching a COVID-19 symptom tracker during the pandemic. The company continues to provide remote health monitoring services for other ailments, such as diabetes and hypertension, which require regular health check-ups. Patients can visit the nearest pharmacy instead of a far-away hospital to conduct tests, and results will be regularly updated on their platform to track changes.

Scarcity Breeds Innovation – The Rising Adoption of Health Tech in Africa by EOS Intelligence

Start-ups offering advanced solutions based on AI and IoT have been also emerging successfully in recent years. For instance, Ilara Health, a Kenya-based company, founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, is providing affordable diagnostic services to rural population using AI-powered diagnostic devices.

With growing internet penetration (40% across Africa as of 2022) and a rise in investments, tech entrepreneurs are now able to develop solutions and expand their reach. For instance, mPharma, a Ghana-based pharmacy stock management company founded in 2013, is improving medicine supply by making prescription drugs easily accessible and affordable across nine countries in Africa. The company raised a US$35 million investment in January 2022 and is building a network of pharmacies and virtual clinics across the continent.

Currently, 42 out of 54 African countries have national eHealth strategies to support digital health initiatives. However, the maximum number of health tech companies are concentrated in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya, which have the highest per capita pharma spending in the continent. Nigeria and South Africa jointly account for 46% of health tech start-ups in Africa. Telemedicine is the most offered service by start-ups founded in the past five years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the most popular telemedicine start-ups include Babylon Health (Rwanda), Vezeeta (Egypt), DRO Health (Nigeria), and Zuri Health (Kenya).

Other most offered services include medicine distribution, hospital/pharmacy management, and online booking and appointments. Medicine distribution start-ups have an immense impact on minimizing the prevalence of counterfeit medication by offering tech-enabled alternatives to sourcing medication from open drug markets. Many physical retail pharmacy chains, such as Goodlife Pharmacy (Kenya), HealthPlus (Nigeria), and MedPlus (Nigeria), are launching online pharmacy operations leveraging their established logistics infrastructure. Hospitals are increasingly adopting automation tools to streamline their operations. Electronic Medical Record (EMR) management tools offered by Helium Health, a provider of hospital automation tools based in Nigeria are widely adopted in six African countries.

Medicine distribution start-ups have an immense impact on minimizing the prevalence of counterfeit medication by offering tech-enabled alternatives to sourcing medication from open drug markets.

For any start-up in Africa, the key to success is to provide scalable, affordable, and accessible digital health solutions. Low-cost subscription plans offered by Mobihealth (a UK-based telehealth company founded in 2018) and Cardo Health (a Sweden-based telehealth company founded in 2021) are at least 50% more affordable than the average doctor consultation fee of US$25 in Africa. Telemedicine platforms such as Reliance HMO (Nigeria) and Rocket Health (Uganda) offer affordable health insurance that covers all medical expenses. Some governments have also taken initiatives in partnering with health tech companies to provide affordable healthcare to their people. For instance, the Rwandan government partnered with a digital health platform called Babylon Health in 2018 to deliver low-cost healthcare to the population of Rwanda. Babylon Health is able to reach the majority of the population through simple SMS codes.

Government support and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)

With a mission to have a digital-first universal primary care (a nationwide program that provides primary care through digital tools), the Rwandan government is setting an example by collaborating with Babylon Health, a telemedicine service that offers online consultations, appointments, and treatments.

As part of nationwide digitization efforts, the government has established broadband infrastructure that reaches 90% population of the country. Apart from this, the country has a robust health insurance named Mutuelle de Santé, which reaches more than 90% of the population. In December 2022, the government of Ghana launched a nationwide e-pharmacy platform to regulate and support digital pharmacies. Similarly, in Uganda, the government implemented a national e-health policy that recognizes the potential of technology in the healthcare sector.

MomConnect, a mobile initiative launched by the South African government with the support of Johnson and Johnson in 2014 for educating expectant and new mothers, is another example of a successful PPP. However, apart from a few countries in the region, there are not enough initiatives undertaken by the governments to improve health systems.

Private and foreign investments

In 2021, health tech start-ups in Africa raised US$392 million. The sustainability of investments became a concern when the investments dropped to US$189 million in 2022 amid the global decline in start-up funding.

However, experts predict that the investment flow will improve in 2023. Recently, in March 2023, South African e-health startup Envisionit Deep AI raised US$1.65 million from New GX Ventures SA, a South African-based venture capital company. Nigerian e-health company, Famasi, is also amongst the start-ups that raised investments during the first quarter of 2023. The company offers doorstep delivery of medicines and flexible payment plans for medicine bills.

The companies that have raised investments in recent years offer mostly telemedicine and distribution services and are based in South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya. That being said, start-ups in the space of wearable devices, AI, and IoT are also gaining the attention of investors. Vitls, a South African-based wearable device developer, raised US$1.3 million in funding in November 2022.

Africa-based incubators and accelerators, such as Villgro, The Baobab Network, and GrowthAfrica Accelerator, are also supporting e-health start-ups with funding and technical guidance. Villgro has launched a US$30 million fund for health tech start-ups in March 2023. Google has also committed US$4 million to fund health tech start-ups in Africa in 2023.

Digital future for healthcare in Africa

There were over 1,700 health tech start-ups in Africa as of January 2023, compared with about 1,200 start-ups in 2020. The rapid emergence of health tech companies is addressing long-running challenges of health systems and are offering tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of the African market.

Mobile penetration is higher than internet penetration, and health tech companies are encouraged to use SMS messaging to promote healthcare access. However, Africa is expected to have at least 65% internet penetration by 2025. With growing awareness of the benefits of health tech solutions, tech companies would be able to address new markets, especially in rural areas.

Companies that offer new technologies such as AI chatbots, drones, wearable devices for remote patient monitoring, hospital automation systems, e-learning platforms for health workers, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), and predictive analytics are expected to gain more attention in the coming years. Digitally enabled, locally-led innovations will have a huge impact on tackling the availability, affordability, and quality of health products and services.

Digitally enabled, locally-led innovations will have a huge impact on tackling the availability, affordability, and quality of health products and services.

Challenges faced by the health tech sector  

While the African health tech industry has significantly evolved over the last few years, there are still significant challenges with regard to infrastructure, computer literacy, costs, and adaptability.

For instance, in Africa, only private hospitals have switched to digital records. Many hospitals still operate without computer systems or internet connections. About 40% of the population are internet users, with countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Ghana, Kenya, and Algeria being the ones with the highest number of internet users (60-80% of the population). However, 23 countries in Africa still have low internet penetration (less than 25%). This is the major reason why tech companies concentrate in the continent’s largest tech hubs.

On the other hand, the majority of the rural population prefers face-to-face contact due to the lack of digital literacy. Electricity and internet connectivity are yet to reach all parts of the region and the cost of the internet is a burden for many people. Low-spending power is a challenge, as people refuse to undergo medical treatment due to a lack of insurance schemes to cover their medical expenses. Insurance schemes provided in Africa only cover 60% of their healthcare expenses. Even though health tech solutions bring medical costs down, these services still remain unaffordable for people in low-income countries. Therefore, start-ups do not prefer to establish or expand their services in such regions.

Another hurdle tech companies face is the diversity of languages in Africa. Africa is home to one-third of the world’s languages and has over 1,000 languages. This makes it difficult for companies to customize content to reach all populations.

Amidst all these challenges, there is very little support from the governments. The companies face unfavorable policies and regulations that hinder the implementation of digital solutions. Only 8% of African countries have online pharmacy regulations. In Nigeria, regulatory guidelines for online pharmacies only came into effect in January 2022, and there are still unresolved concerns around its implementation.

Lack of public investment and comprehensive government support also discourage the local players. Public initiatives are rare in providing funding, research support, and regulatory approval for technology innovations in the health sector. Private investment flow is low for start-ups in this sector compared to other industries. Health tech start-ups raised a total investment of US$189 million in 2022, which is not even 10% of the total investments raised by start-ups in other sectors in Africa. Also, funding is favored towards the ones established in high-income countries. Founders who don’t have ties to high-income countries struggle to raise funds.

EOS Perspective

The emergence of tech health can be referred to as a necessary rise to deal with perennial gaps in the African healthcare system. Undoubtedly, many of these successful companies could transform the health sector, making quality health services available to the mass population. The pandemic has spurred the adoption of digital health, and the trend experienced during the pandemic continues to grow with the developments in the use of advanced technologies such as AI and IoT. Telemedicine and distribution have been the fastest-growing sectors driven by the demand for remote healthcare services during the pandemic. Home-based care is likely to keep gaining momentum with the development of advanced solutions for remote health monitoring and diagnostic services.

Home-based care is likely to keep gaining momentum with the development of advanced solutions for remote health monitoring and diagnostic services.

With the increasing internet penetration and acceptance of digital healthcare, health tech companies are likely to be able to expand their reach to rural areas. Right policies, PPPs, and infrastructure development are expected to catalyze the health tech adoption in Africa. Companies that offer advanced technologies such as IoT-enabled integrated medical devices, AI chatbots, drones, wearable devices for remote patient monitoring, hospital automation systems, e-learning platforms for health workers, and predictive analytics for health monitoring are expected to emerge successfully in the coming years.

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Agritech in Africa: How Blockchain Can Help Revolutionize Agriculture

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In the first part of our series on agritech in Africa, we took a look into how IT and other technology investments are helping small farmers in Africa. In the second part, we are exploring the impact that potential application of advanced technologies such as blockchain can have on the African agriculture sector.

Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is already finding utility across several business sectors including financial, banking, retail, automotive, and aviation industries (click here to read our previous Perspectives on blockchain technology). The technology is finding its way in agriculture too, and has the potential to revolutionize the way farming is done.

This article is the second part of a two-piece coverage focusing on technological advancements in agriculture across the African continent.

Read part one here: Agritech in Africa: Cultivating Opportunities for ICT in Agriculture

State of blockchain implementation in agriculture in Africa

Agricultural sector in Africa has already witnessed the onset of blockchain based solutions being introduced in the market. Existing tech players and emerging start-ups have developed blockchain solutions, such as eMarketplaces, agricultural credit/financing platforms, and crop insurance services. Companies, globally as well as within Africa, are harnessing applications of blockchain to develop innovative solutions targeted at key stakeholders across the food value chain.

Blockchain to promote transparency across agriculture sector

The most common application of blockchain in any industry sector (and not only agriculture) is creating an immutable record of transactions or events, which is particularly helpful in creating a trusted record of land ownership for farmers, who are traditionally dependent on senior village officials to prove their ownership of land.

Since 2017, a Kenyan start-up, Land LayBy has been using an Ethereum-based shared ledger to keep records of land transactions. This offers farmers a trusted and transparent medium to establish land ownership, which can then further be used to obtain credit from banks or alternative financing companies. BanQu and BitLand are other examples of blockchain being used as a proof of land ownership.

This feature of blockchain also enables creation of a transparent environment where companies can trace the production and journey of agricultural products across their supply chain. Transparency across the supply chain helps create trust between farmers and buyers, and the improved visibility of prices further down the value chain also enables farmers to get better value for their produce.

In 2017, US-based Bext360 started a pilot project with US-based Coda Coffee and its Uganda-based coffee export partner, ​​Great​ ​Lakes​ ​Coffee. The company developed a machine to grade and weigh coffee beans deposited to Great Lakes by individual farmers in East Uganda. The device uploads the data on a blockchain-based SaaS solution, which enables users to trace the coffee from its origin to end consumer. The blockchain solution is also used to make payments to the farmers based on the grade of their produce in form of tokens.

In 2017, Amsterdam-based Moyee Coffee also partnered with KrypC, a global blockchain, to create a fully blockchain-traceable coffee. The coffee beans are sourced from individual farmers in Ethiopia, and then roasted within the country, before being exported to the Netherlands.

This transparency can help food companies to isolate the cause of any disease outbreak impacting the food value chain. This also allows consumers can be aware of the source of the ingredients used in their food products.

Agritech in Africa: How Blockchain Can Help Revolutionize Agriculture by EOS Intelligence

Blockchain-based platforms to improve farmer and buyer collaboration

Blockchain can also act as a platform to connect farmers with vendors, food processing, and packaging companies, providing a secure and trusted environment to both buyers and suppliers to transact without the need of a middleman. This also results in elimination of margins that need to be paid to these intermediaries, and helps improve the margins for buyers.

Farmshine, a Kenyan start-up, created a blockchain-based platform to auger trade collaboration among farmers, buyers, and service providers in Kenya. In January 2020, the company also raised USD$250,000 from Gray Matters Capital, to finance its planned future expansion to Malawi.

These blockchain platforms can also be used to connect farmers to other farmers, for activities such as asset or land sharing, resulting in more efficiency in economical farming operations. Blockchain platform can also enable small farmers to lease idle farms from their peers, thereby providing them with access to additional revenue sources, which they would not be able to do traditionally.

AgUnity, an Australian-start-up established in 2016, developed a mobile application which enables farmers to record their produce and transactions over a distributed ledger, offering a trusted and transparent platform to work with co-operatives and third-party buyers. The platform also enables farmers to share farming equipment as per a set schedule to improve overall operational and cost efficiency. In Africa, AgUnity has launched pilot projects in Kenya and Ethiopia, targeted at helping farmers achieve better income for their produce.

A Nigerian start-up, Hello Tractor uses IBM’s blockchain technology to help small farmers in Nigeria, which cannot afford tractors on their own, to lease idle tractors from owners and contractors at affordable prices through a mobile application.

Smart contracts to transform agriculture finance and insurance

Less than 3% of small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have adequate access to agricultural insurance coverage, which leaves them vulnerable to adverse climatic situations such as droughts.

Smart contracts based on blockchain can also be used to provide crop-insurance, which can be triggered given certain set conditions are met, enabling farmers to secure their farms and family livelihood in case of extreme climatic events such as floods or droughts.

SmartCrop, an Android-based mobile platform, provides affordable crop insurance to more than 20,000 small farms in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda through blockchain-based smart contracts, which are triggered based on intelligent weather predictions.

Netherlands-based ICS, parent company of Agrics East Africa (which provides farm inputs on credit to small farmers in Kenya and Tanzania) is also exploring a blockchain-wallet based saving product, “drought coins”, which can be encashed by farmers depending on the weather conditions and forecasts.

Tracking of assets (such as land registries) and transactions on the blockchain can also be used to verify the farmers’ history, which can be used by alternative financing companies to offer loans or credits to farmers – e.g. in cases when farmers are not able to get such financing from traditional banks – transforming the banking and financial services available to farmers.

Several African start-ups such as Twiga Foods and Cellulant have tried to explore the use of blockchain technology to offer agriculture financing solutions to small farmers in Africa.

In late 2018, Africa’s leading mobile wallet company, Cellulant, launched Agrikore, a blockchain-based digital-payment, contracting, and marketplace system that connects small farmers with large commercial customers. The company started its operations in Nigeria and is exploring expansion of its business to Kenya.

In 2018, Kenya-based Twiga Foods (that connects farmers to urban retailers in an informal market) partnered with IBM to launch a blockchain-based lending platform which offered loans to small retailers in Kenya to purchase food products from suppliers listed on Twiga platform.

Read our previous Perspective Africa’s Fintech Market Striding into New Product Segments to find out more about innovative fintech products for agriculture and other sectors financing in Africa

And last, but not the least, blockchain or cryptocurrencies can simply be used as a mode of payment with a much lower transaction fee offered by traditional banking institutions.

Improving mobile internet access to boost blockchain implementation

While blockchain has shown potential to transform agriculture in Africa, its implementation is limited by the lack of mobile/internet access and technical know-how among small farmers. As of 2018, mobile internet had penetrated only 23% of the total population in Sub-Saharan Africa.

However, the GSM Association predicts mobile internet penetration to improve significantly over the next five years, to ~39% by 2025. Improved access to internet services is expected to boost the farmers’ ability to interact with the blockchain solutions, thereby increasing development and deployment of more blockchain-based solutions for farmers.

EOS Perspective

Agritech offers an immense opportunity in Africa, and blockchain is likely to be an integral part of this opportunity. Blockchain has already started witnessing implementation in systems providing proof of ownership, platforms for farmer cooperation, and agricultural financing tools.

Unlike Asian and Latin American countries, African markets have shown a relatively positive attitude towards adoption of blockchain, a fact that promises positive environment for development of such solutions.

At the moment, most development in blockchain agritech space is concentrated in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Ghana. However, there is potential to scale up operations in other countries across Africa as well, and some start-ups have already proved this (e.g. Farmshine was able to secure the necessary financing to expand its presence in Malawi). Other companies can follow suit, however, that would only be possible with the help of further private sector investments.

Still in the nascent stages of development, blockchain solutions face an uncertain future, at least in the short term, and are dependent on external influences to pick up growth they need to impact the agriculture sector significantly. However, once such solutions achieve certain scalability, and become increasingly integrated with other technologies, such as Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, blockchain has the capability of completely transform the way farming is done in Africa.

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Agritech in Africa: Cultivating Opportunities for ICT in Agriculture

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Agriculture technologies in Africa have been undergoing significant development over the years, with many tech start-ups innovating information and communications technologies to support agriculture at all levels. While some technologies have been successfully launched, some are in initial stages of becoming a success. Private sector investments have been the key driving factor supporting the development of agriculture technologies in Africa. In the first part of our series on agritech in Africa, we are examine what impact and opportunities arise from the use of these technologies in Africa.

Agriculture plays a significant role in Africa’s economy, contributing 32% to the continent’s GDP and employing 65% of the total work force (as per the World Bank estimates). Nearly 70% of the continent’s population directly depends on agribusiness. Vast majority of farmers work on small scale farms that produce nearly 90% of all agricultural output.

This article is the first part of a two-piece coverage focusing on technological advancements in agriculture across the African continent.

Read part two here: Agritech in Africa: How Blockchain Can Help Revolutionize Agriculture

Agriculture in Africa has been under the pressure of many challenges such as low productivity, lack of knowledge and exposure to new farming techniques, and lack of access to financial support, especially for the small-scale farmers. These challenges are prompting investments in newer technologies to enhance the productivity through smart agriculture techniques.

Lately, there have been an increased use of various technologies in agriculture in Africa, such as Internet of Things (IoT), Open Source Software, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Big Data Analytics. Many tech start-ups have developed solutions targeting various aspects of agriculture, including finance, supply chain, retailing, and even delivering information related to crops and weeds. These solutions are accessible to farmers through front-end devices such as smart phones and tablets, or even SMS.

Agritech in Africa - Cultivating Opportunities for ICT in Agriculture by EOS Intelligence

Start-ups lead agritech development in Africa

Many agritech start-ups in Africa have come up with solutions that have led to a rise in productivity of the farms. Drones have been a breakthrough technology, helping farmers oversee their crops, and manage their farms effectively. Drones use highly focused cameras to capture picture of crops, soil or weeds. This, coupled with big data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), provides insights to farmers, saving their time and effort, while also helping them find potential issues which could impact the productivity of their farms.

There are various agritech start-ups that are developing such drones, and providing them to farmers for rent or lease to analyse their crops and farms. A South African agritech start-up, Aerobotics, offers an end-to-end solution to help farmers manage their farms using drones, through early detection of any crop-related problems, and offering curative measures for the problems using an AI-based analytics platform. The company partners with drone manufacturing companies such as DJI and Micasense to deliver these solutions.

Acquahmeyer, another start-up based in Ghana, also provides drones to its farming customers to help them use a comprehensive approach to apply crop pest control and plant nutrition management for their farms.

Advent of advanced technologies such as IoT is also helping farmers to adopt smart farm management through the use of smart sensors connected in a network. This helps every farmer to get granular details of the crops, soil, farming equipment, or livestock, enabling the farmers to devise appropriate farming approaches.

Kenya-based UjuziKilimo provides solution for analyzing soil characteristics using electronic sensor placed in the ground. This helps farmers with useful real-time insights into soil conditions. The solution further utilizes big data analytics to guide the farmers, by offering insights through SMS on their connected mobile phones or tablets.

Hello Tractor, a Kenyan start-up, provides an IoT solution, through which farmers can have access to affordable tractors which are monitored virtually through a remote asset tracking device on the tractor, sharing data over the Hello Tractor Cloud. Farmers, booking agents, dealers, and tractor owners are connected via IoT. The company is also collaborating with IBM to incorporate artificial intelligence and blockchain to their solutions.

AI has also witnessed a rapid growth in adoption across agriculture sector in Africa. Agrix Tech, based in Cameroon, has developed a mobile application that requires the farmers to capture the picture of diseased crop, which is then analyzed via AI to detect crop diseases, and helps the farmers with treatment solution to save their crops.

AI is also helping Kenyan farmers with the knowledge on planting the right crops at the right time. Tech giant, Capgemini, has teamed up with a Kenyan social enterprise in Kakamega region in Western Kenya to use artificial intelligence to analyze farming data, and then send insights about right time and technique of planting crops to the farmers’ cell phones.

There are other agritech solutions that include mobile applications which use digital platforms such as cloud computing to reach out to farmers, and provide them with apt agriculture solutions. Ghana-based CowTribe offers a mobile USSD-based subscription service which enables livestock farmers to connect with veterinarians for animal vaccines and other livestock healthcare services using cloud-based logistics management system. The company focuses on managing the schedules, and delivering the right service to the livestock farmers, to help them safeguard their animals from any health-related problems.

Several agritech investments are also impacting the financial side of agriculture. Kenya-based Apollo Agriculture provides solutions related to financing, farm inputs, advice insurance and market access through the use of agronomic machine learning, remote sensing, and mobile technology using satellite data and cloud computing.

Another Nigerian start-up Farmcrowdy has developed Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform that provides financial support to the farmers by allowing those outside the agriculture industry to sponsor individual farms.

Several other agritech start-ups across the continent, such as Ghana-based Farmerline and AgroCenta, and Nigeria-based Kitovu have also launched data-driven mobile application for farmers. These technology solutions are proving to be a boon for agriculture sector in Africa, helping improve the overall efficiency and productivity.

Agritech in Africa - Cultivating Opportunities for ICT in Agriculture by EOS Intelligence

Agritech development is concentrated in Kenya and Nigeria

But, when it comes to first adopting the newest technologies and starting an agritech business in agriculture, Kenya and Nigeria have been leading in the adoption of new agritech solutions, accounting for a significant share of agritech start-up across Africa. Kenya has played a pioneering role in bringing agritech in Africa since 2010-2011, when the first wave of agritech start-ups began to bring new niche innovations. Currently, Kenya accounts for 25% of all the agritech start-ups in Africa, and the development is progressing rapidly, thanks to the country’s advancement in technology, high smartphone penetration, and relatively widespread internet access.

Similarly, Nigeria too has sailed the boat of success in agritech start-ups since 2015, and now it accounts for 23.2% of total agritech start-ups in Africa, with include major players such as Twiga Foods, Apollo Agriculture, Agrikore, and Tulaa. The growing inclination amongst Nigerian farmers towards using digital tools in agriculture sector has further pushed the rapid development in agritech sector in the country.

Other countries have also shown potential for agritech development, though it is still in the initial stages of becoming mainstream in their agriculture sectors. Ghana has encouraged several start-ups to launch different technology innovations for making agriculture more sustainable, while South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe have also witnessed the rise in agritech start-ups over the years with newer technologies for agriculture sector.

Recent investments highlight the agritech potential

The agriculture technologies in Africa got the boost from the increased private funding. According to a report by Disrupt-Africa released in 2018, there has been a total investment of US$19 million in agritech sector since 2016. These investments have largely focused on funding agritech start-ups working on bringing innovative agriculture technologies. Also, according to the same report, the number of agritech start-ups rose by 110% from 2016 to 2018.

Some of the recent investments in the agritech sector include Kenya’s Twiga Foods, a B2B food distribution company, which raised US$30 million from investors led by Goldman Sachs in October 2019. The company aims to set-up a distribution centre in Nairobi to offer better supply chain services, while also expanding to more cities in Kenya, including Mombasa.

In December 2019, Kenya-based agritech start-up Farmshine, also raised US$25 million in funding from US-based Gray Matter’s Capital coLabs (GMC coLabs), to expand its operations in Malawi. GMC coLabs also invested US$1 million in another Kenyan B2B agritech start-up Taimba in July 2019. Taimba provides a mobile-based cashless platform connecting smallholder farmers to urban retailers. The investment was focused on strengthening Taimba’s infrastructure and increase the delivery logistics to cater to new markets.

Cellulant, a leading pan-African digital payments service provider that offers a real-time payment platform to farmers, also raised US$47.5 million from a consortium of investors in May 2018, which is the largest investment in the African tech industry till date. Cellulant also plans to channel a significant portion of funds into its Agrikore subsidiary, an agritech start-up dealing with blockchain based smart-contracting, payments, and marketplace system.

EOS Perspective

African agritech is expected to witness high growth in future. According to a CTA report on Digitalization for Agriculture (D4Ag) published in 2018, digital agriculture solutions are likely to reach 60-100 million smallholder famers, while generating annual revenues of nearly US$320- US$470 million by the end of 2020.

Adoption and use of innovative technologies such as remote sensing, diagnostics, IoT sensors for digitalization of agriculture is steadily moving from experimental stage to full-scale deployment, contributing to the data revolution in agriculture, while also unlocking new business models and opportunities.

Apart from these, blockchain is gaining prominence, and finding applications in the agriculture sector in Africa. This technology has the potential to significantly impact the agriculture sector, which we will discuss in the second part of our series on Agritech in Africa.

However, lack of affordability and knowledge to access such technologies, especially by small-scale farmers, has restricted the growth and reachability of these solutions. With the need to educate farmers and make such technology affordable and viable, it is likely that it may take at least 5-7 years before these technologies become truly mainstream in the continent.

A disparity of investments has been observed among the countries in the region. Over the years, countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana have experienced a strong growth in terms of private investments, while other countries are left wanting. Investors have prioritized easy-to-reach markets in Africa, leaving behind the lower-income markets, resulting in agritech becoming less sustainable and scalable in these markets. However, several other African countries have shown the appetite to adopt agritech solutions, and offer significant potential.

This requires an intervention and participation from both governments and private investors, which can help improve scalability of agriculture technologies in the region. Implementation of farming digital literacy, public-private partnerships, and increased private sector investments in agritech enterprises can help the agritech industry experience a consistent and higher success rate, thus bringing the agriculture technology to a mainstream at faster pace.

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Monetizing 5G: The Road Ahead for Telecom Operators

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A new era of mobile communication and data services is set to begin as telecom operators across the world are priming for roll out of 5G. As per the estimates by Hadden Telecoms, a UK-based consultancy firm, as of August 2019, 287 telecom operators have invested in 5G deployment across 105 countries. Investments span across various facets of 5G technology including ongoing 5G base-station deployment and other infrastructure development, commercial service launches, future commitments or contracts to deploy 5G networks, pilot testing and trials, and research studies. As 5G seems to be an inevitable leap to the future of internet technology, the pressing question for telecom operators is how they can monetize the 5G opportunities.

5G mobile broadband is expected to become the key driver of revenue growth in consumer segment

Telecom operators will be primarily banking on 5G-enabled high-speed mobile broadband which is a natural progression from 4G mobile broadband internet services. An annual industry survey (2018), conducted by Telecom.com Intelligence – an information source for global telecom industry, indicated that 45% of the respondents (i.e. 1,500 telecom industry professionals across the world) recognized mobile broadband as the 5G service with greatest commercial potential. Based on 35,000 online interviews conducted with people across 22 countries in May 2019, Ericsson estimated that, with 5G, the average monthly mobile data consumption will increase 10 -14 times. Rising demand for data-intensive applications offering high quality video viewing and immersive gaming experience will be the key impetus for 5G mobile broadband.

5G to make dream of high-quality video streaming come true

Video accounts for the lion’s share of telecom operator’s network traffic today and it is likely to become the key driver of 5G mobile broadband service. Based on survey of 30 telecom operators across the world, Openwave Mobility (a mobile data traffic management solution provider) indicated that video on mobile broadband has registered average growth of 50%-60% year-on-year during 2014-2018. In many developing countries, this growth was over 100%. As per Ericsson’s estimates, video’s share in global mobile data traffic is forecasted to rise from 60% in 2018 to 74% in 2024, witnessing a 35% growth annually.

The growth in mobile video from 2010 to 2015 was attributed mainly to increased watch times. Interestingly, since 2015, growth in mobile video was mainly driven by consumer’s move towards high definition (HD) content. Further, video is expected to evolve from HD to higher display resolution such as 2k, 4K, and even 8K in the future. HD video consumes about 0.9GB per hour, while 2k and 4k would consume about 3GB and 7GB, respectively, thereby demanding higher bandwidth capacity and speed – which only 5G will be able to fulfil. This is because 5G is expected to be 100 times faster and have 1,000 times more capacity than 4G, thus enabling smooth streaming of 4k or 8k video without any buffering or lag. 5G will also become backbone for emerging technologies such as 360-degree video, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

5G will push for convergence of communications and media, opening up new avenues for telecom operators by integration of video content and media into their offerings. For instance, in May 2019, US-based telecom operator Verizon hinted that partnerships with content providers such as NFL, The New York Times, and YouTube TV, are part of the company’s 5G video strategy.

Anytime, anywhere gaming gets closer to reality with 5G

Just as 4G enabled video streaming services to go mainstream, 5G is expected to do the same for game streaming (also known as cloud gaming, meaning the game runs on a cloud platform instead of consumer’s devices). As per estimates of Newzoo, a gaming research company, the global gaming market is expected to reach US$152.1 billion in 2019, out of which 45% i.e. US$68.5 billion will be generated from mobile gaming (games on smartphones and tablets). This indicates that smartphones and tablets have already become most commonly used devices for gaming. 5G is expected to push mobile gaming to a next level by enabling game streaming. This is because 5G’s low latency (i.e. time taken to upload data from consumer’s device to target network) will allow consumers to stream games with virtually no lag. Currently, with 4G technology, the average latency is about 50 milliseconds (ms) because of which the response time between player-cloud server-player is too long. But latency could be reduced to 1ms with 5G, thus providing uninterrupted gaming experience to the players.

With advent of 5G, majority of the leading game developers, including Nvidia, Sony, Microsoft, EA, and Google, have already launched or plan to include game streaming as a part of their service offerings. The game streaming market is expected to grow at CAGR of 41.9% during 2019-2025, to reach US$740 million in 2025 from US$45 million in 2018. Telecom operators could tap into this growing demand for game streaming by partnering with game developers. For instance, in March 2019, Nvidia’s CEO indicated that the company will cash in on delivering game streaming service via telecom operators’ 5G offering and in return, telecom operators will get to keep more than half of the gaming subscription fee collected from the players (i.e. consumers). Such partnerships are already seen to be materializing; for instance, in September 2019, SK Telecom (South Korea’s largest telecom operator) paired up with Microsoft to deliver xCloud (Microsoft’s game streaming service) in South Korea over its 5G network.

5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) provides telecom operators with scope of market expansion

While 5G mobile broadband provides internet connectivity to smartphones, 5G FWA offers wireless broadband to homes and businesses through 5G networks. 5G FWA is expected to be a better alternative to fixed wired broadband including DSL (Digital Subscriber Line – internet delivered through existing copper telephone lines), cable (internet provided by cable operators through coaxial cables), and FTTH (Fibre-to-the-Home – the latest broadband technology using fibre optic cables). In January 2019, CEO of a US-based telecom operator AT&T emphasized that 5G FWA will evolve as a replacement product for existing fixed broadband over next three to five years.

5G FWA will be able to compete head on with fixed broadband. 5G FWA can provide faster speed and higher bandwidth, while also remaining more cost-effective compared to fixed wired broadband. To be specific, an article published in October 2018 on Inside Tower, an information source for wireless infrastructure industry, indicated that total capex per subscriber to deploy FTTH was about US$2,000-US$2,500, while 5G FWA capex could be estimated at US$1,000-US$1,500 per subscriber (representing nearly 50%-60% cost reduction over FTTH). Earlier, in August 2017, a Dubai-based research firm SNS Telecom estimated that 5G FWA can reduce the initial cost of installing last-mile connectivity by 40% when compared to FTTH.

Explore our other Perspectives on 5G

5G FWA is expected to become one of the first commercial use cases of 5G technology. SNS Telecom estimates 5G FWA revenues to reach US$1 billion globally by the end of 2019, and the market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of over 84% between 2019 and 2025, to reach US$40 billion in 2025. Another research firm MarketsandMarkets predicts that the global 5G FWA market will grow from US$396 million in 2019 to US$46,366 million by 2026, at a CAGR of 97.5% between 2019 and 2026.

Push for industry digitization by leveraging 5G-IoT technology opens up new market opportunities for telecom operators in business-to-business (B2B) segment

Digital transformation driven by 5G-enabled IoT applications is the key focus for most industries including automotive, healthcare, media and entertainment, retail, energy and utilities, manufacturing, agriculture, public transport, public safety, and financial services. Based on analysis of 400 digitization use cases from ten industries (mentioned above), Ericsson in association with Arthur D. Little (a management consultancy firm) released a report in October 2017 suggesting that the connectivity and infrastructure provisioning to enable industry digitization is expected to generate US$230 billion in 2026. Telecom operators, in their traditional role of operating network infrastructure, have the potential to address 89% of connectivity and infrastructure provisioning opportunity, representing US$204 billion in revenues. As per the Ericsson report, the telecom operators’ potential business from connectivity and infrastructure provisioning is anticipated from number of use cases including real-time automation, enhanced video services, monitoring and tracking, connected vehicle, hazard and maintenance sensing, smart surveillance, autonomous robotics, remote operations, and augmented reality, among others.

Further, many telecom operators are expected to evolve from being network developers to service enablers providing digital platforms catering to industry-specific digitization requirements. Service enablement to address industry digitization is forecast to generate US$646 in revenues in 2026, of which telecom-operator-addressable share is estimated at 52%, translating to US$337 billion.

Moreover, telecom operators also have the opportunity to take on the role of a service creator by developing new digital service and setting up new digital value systems. In this role, telecom operators have the potential to earn US$79 billion in 2026 (representing 18% of the total revenue generated through application and service provisioning).

Thus, if telecom operators partake in every step of industry digitization value chain by adapting the role of a network developer, service enabler, as well as service creator, the total addressable revenue opportunity from industry digitization could reach US$619 billion in 2026.

Monetizing 5G - The Road Ahead for Telecom Operators by EOS Intelligence

EOS Perspective

Traditionally, telecom operators’ business model revolved mainly around providing voice and data services to consumers. Advent of 5G will not only allow telecom operators to unlock new revenue streams in consumer side of business but also expand the addressable market to B2B space.

The onset of 5G will enable telecom operators to explore new use cases and develop corresponding service offerings. For this, telecom operators will need support and cooperation from different players across the ecosystem.

Telecom operators will need to collaborate with application developers, device manufacturers, as well as third-party technology solution providers to co-create services as per the requirement of specific industries. Ericsson research report (based on survey of 50 executives working with 37 telecom operators globally), released in 2017, pointed out that 77% of the respondents believed that third-party collaboration would be vital in monetizing 5G. Realizing the importance of industry collaboration to cultivate commercially viable 5G use cases, most of the leading telecom operators have started building their partnership network. For instance, Japanese telecom operator NTT Docomo indicated that total number of partners in its 5G Open Partner Program (launched in 2018) reached 2,700 by June 2019.

Further, telecom operators will need to modify and tailor their offerings to address the evolving consumer demands and expectations. To be successful, telecom operators will need to strive to develop and offer a complete solution to the consumers. For instance, 74% of the 35,000 respondents (that participated in Ericsson survey in May 2019), indicated that they find the idea of moving away from cable TV and shifting to 5G FWA bundled with 5G TV services very appealing. In view of this, most telecom operators are experimenting with bundling strategy, starting with inclusion of streaming services as a part of their package. Ovum estimates that streaming services (including, video, live sports, music, and game) billed through 5G network bundles offered by telecom operators will grow from US$6 million in 2019 to US$4.87 billion in 2024.

Moreover, telecom operators will need to develop completely new revenue models for enterprises. Telecom operators may adopt a business model widely used by consultants, wherein they can collaborate with enterprises for specific projects and receive a one-time fixed fee or share of project-associated profits or cost savings. Or, like application developers, telecom operators can develop standard solutions for specific industries and adapt licensing model permitting enterprises to integrate the solution into their end-product or subscription-based model allowing the enterprises to use the solution for a specific period of time.

5G’s functionalities and characteristics entice telecom operators to develop new use cases and capitalize on corresponding revenue opportunities. However, the use cases, particularly in enterprise segment, still need to stand the test of practicality and commercial viability. Though 5G offers plethora of opportunities for the telecom operators, it is advisable to focus on a few business cases that best fit to their capabilities and develop the ecosystem (including application developers, device manufacturers, and third-party solution providers) required to take the final solution to prospective consumers.

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Slowly but Surely – Insurance Realizes AI’s Value

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Several sectors, such as banking, F&B, automotive, and healthcare have seen major transformations at the hands of artificial intelligence (AI) ‒ we discussed benefits of AI in fast food industry in our previous article – Artificial Intelligence Finds its Way into Your Favorite Fast Food Chain in November 2017. AI has become an integral part of a large number of industries, providing new solutions and facilitating greater back-end efficiency as well as customer engagement and management. Insurance sector, on the other hand, has been largely slow to react to this disruptive trend. In 2017, only about 1.3% of insurance companies invested in AI (as compared with 32% insurance companies that invested in software and information technologies). However, this is expected to change as insurance companies have begun to realize the untapped potential that AI unearths in all aspects of their business, i.e. policy pricing, customer purchase experience, application processing and underwriting, and claim settlement.

Insurance industry has been one of the sectors that have operated in their traditional form for several decades, without undergoing much of substantial transformation. This is also one of the reasons why the insurance sector has been relatively late in jumping on the AI bandwagon.

Artificial intelligence, which has significantly transformed the way several industries such as automotive, healthcare, and manufacturing operate, also presents a host of benefits to the insurance sector. Moreover, it is expected to drive savings not only for insurance companies but also brokers and policy holders.

Streamlining internal processes

AI has the ability to streamline several internal processes within insurance companies. There is a host of duplicating business operations in the insurance sector. Automation and digitization can result in about 40% cost cutting, and this can be achieved by automating about 30% of the operations.

This can be seen in the case of Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance. In 2017, this Tokyo-based insurance company replaced 34 employees with IBM’s Watson Explorer AI system that can calculate payouts to policyholders in faster and more precise manner. The company expects to boost productivity by 30% and is expected to save close to US$1.26 million (JPY 140 million) in the first year of operations. To put this in a perspective, the AI system cost the company, US$1.8 million (JPY 200 million), and its maintenance is expected to cost US$130,000 (JPY 15 million) per year. Therefore, Fukoku seems optimistic about achieving its return on investment within less than two years of installing the AI system.

In addition to providing automation of processes, AI can bring out disruptive transformation throughout the insurance value chain. Some of the most substantial benefits of using AI in the insurance sector are expected to be seen in policy pricing, offering of personalized insurance plans, as well as claim management.

Policy pricing

Traditionally, insurance companies used to price their policies by creating risk pools based on statistical sampling, thereby all insurance policies were based on proxy data.

AI is transforming this by moving policy pricing analysis from proxy data to real-time source data. Internet of Things (IoT) device sensors, such as telematics and wearable sensor data, enable insurance firms to price coverage based on real events and real-time data of the individuals that they are insuring.

An example of this is usage-based or pay-per-mile auto insurance, wherein a telematics sensor box (a black box for a car), is installed into a car to track information such as speed, driving distances, breaking habits, and other qualitative and quantitative driving data. Using this data, insurance companies can offer a customized policy to the car owner, charging lower premium from safe drivers or offering less-used cars the pay-per-mile option. It also helps insurance companies charge suitable premium from reckless drivers and long-distance drivers.

In February 2017, UK-based mobile network brand, O2, expanded into the auto insurance space with a telematics product called the O2 Drive. The device tracks different aspects of a user’s driving habits and offers discounts and personalized insurance policies based on it. The company is positioning its products to attract teen and young drivers as they are most likely to be open to sharing their driving data.

In addition to auto insurance, IoT devices such as wearable devices and smart home solutions also help in setting policy pricing in health and home insurance. US-based Beam Insurance Services uses a smart toothbrush to offer dental insurance. The company uses data accrued from the smart toothbrush, such as number of times a person brushes their teeth, duration of brushing, etc., to offer a personalized insurance policy. It claims to offer up to 25% lower rates in comparison with its competitors.

In another example, UK-based Neos Ventures offers IoT-powered home insurance based on a smart home monitoring and emergency assistance device. The device and its accompanying app helps users reduce instances of fire and water-based damages as well as break-ins and thefts. The premise of the company is that if they can successfully reduce the chances of any mishaps, they can offer cheaper premiums to the insured.

While IoT devices can greatly personalize insurance pricing, the largest caveat to the success of this pricing mechanism remains that customers must be willing to share their personal data with insurance providers to attain savings in the form of lower premium. As per Deloitte – EMEA Insurance Data Analytics Study 2017, about 40% of customers surveyed seemed open to track their behavior and share the data with insurers for more accurate premiums for health insurance, while 38% and 48% customers were open to tracking and sharing data in case of home and auto insurance, respectively.

Slowly but Surely – Insurance Realizes AI's Value

Customer purchase experience and underwriting of applications

The relationship between an insurance agent and the customer is an extremely important one for insurance companies. Many times the customer is dissatisfied with its interaction/experience with the insurance agent as they feel that the agent does not have their best interest at heart or the agent is not available for them as and when required.

This issue is effectively addressed with the use of AI-powered chatbots or virtual assistants. Advanced chatbots use image recognition and social data to personalize sales conversations and provide a better customer experience. Thus, agents and insurance representatives are being replaced by chatbots, which deliver faster and more efficient customer experience.

ZhongAn, a China-based pure online insurance company uses chatbots for 97% of its customer queries without any human involvement. It also uses AI to offer innovative insurance products, such as cracked mobile screen insurance. It uses image recognition technology to detect whether the image shows the mobile screen is cracked or intact. It can also decipher if the picture has been photoshopped or altered to ensure the claim is genuine. Since its inception in 2013, the company has sold about 8 billion policies to 500 million customers (these include cracked mobile insurance as well as the company’s other popular products).

To blend the human experience with chatbots, companies have started branding their chatbots with human names. New York-based P2P insurance company, Lemonade, uses exclusively chatbots named Maya and Jim to interact with customers and create personalized insurance options in less than a minute within the Lemonade app. The chatbots Maya and Jim are alter-egos of the company’s real-life employees with the same names.

Similarly, in December 2016, ICICI Lombard General Insurance launched a chatbot called MyRA. Within six months of operations the virtual assistance platform sold 750 policies without any human intervention, while it was used by 60,000 consumers for queries.

In addition to elevating customer’s purchase experience, AI also helps in reducing insurance underwriting/processing time and ensuring higher quality. The underwriting process traditionally has a range of manual tasks that make the process slow and also prone to human errors. However, AI helps achieve quicker and more reliable data analysis. AI tools such as Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) help underwriters scan a customer’s social profile to gather important data, trends, and behavioral patterns that can result in more accurate assessment of the application.

New-York based Haven Life (a subsidiary of MassMutual), leverages AI technology to underwrite its life insurance policies. It requires its customers to submit a 30-question application (which is more conversational in nature as compared with the detailed traditional life insurance forms) and upload few documents such as medical records, motor vehicle driving records, etc. The AI technology analyzes the provided information along with historical life insurance data and asks additional questions if required. In several cases, it also offers coverage without the mandated medical test. Through AI, the company has reduced its underwriting time from the typical 1-2 weeks to as low as 20 minutes.

Claim management

AI can play a significant role in two of the most critical aspects of claim management, i.e. the time to settle a claim and fraud detection.

The time to settle a claim is one of the performance metrics that customers care most about. Using AI, companies can expedite the claim process. Chatbots are used to address the First Notice of Loss (FNOL), wherein customers submit their claims by sending pictures of the damaged goods along with answering few questions. The chatbot then processes the claim and assesses the extent of loss and its authenticity, to determine the correct amount for claim settlement.

Lemonade set a world record in December 2016 by settling a claim using its AI bot, Jim, in only three seconds. The AI bot reviewed the claim, cross-referenced it against the policy, ran several anti-fraud algorithms, approved the claim, sent wiring instructions to the bank, and informed the customer in the three-second window.

Another interesting area of application is in agriculture, where machine learning can also help quickly analyze claims (pertaining to loss spread over a wide area) using satellite imaging, which would otherwise take humans significantly greater time and costs to ascertain.

As mentioned earlier, AI can bring massive savings to insurance firms by reducing fraudulent claims. As per US-based Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) estimates, insurance carriers lose about US$80 billion annually in fraudulent claims. AI technologies provide insurance firms with real-time data to identify duplicate and inflated claims as well as fake diagnoses.

In addition, many companies use AI to run algorithms on historical data to identify sequences and patterns of fraudulent claims to identify traits and trends that may be missed by the human eye during the initial stages of claim processing.

According to CAIF, in November 2016, about 75% of insurance firms used automated fraud detection systems to detect false claims. Paris-based Shift Technologies is one of the leading players in this domain, claiming to have a 250% better fraud identification rate as compared with the market average. The company had analyzed more than 100 million claims from its inception in 2013 up till October 2017.

EOS Perspective

There is no denying that AI has the capability to transform the insurance industry (as it has transformed many other industries). Although, initially slow at reacting to the AI trend, insurance companies have realized its potential.

As per an April 2017 Accenture survey, about 79% of the insurance executives believed that AI will revolutionize the way insurers gain information from and interact with their customers. This is also visible in the recent level of investments made in AI by the insurance sector. TCS’s Global Trend Study on AI 2017 stated that the insurance sector outspent all the other 12 sectors surveyed (including travel, consumer packaged goods, hospitality, media, etc.) by investing an average of US$124 million annually in AI systems. The cross industry average of the 13 sectors stood at US$70 million.

Thus, it is very important for insurance players to get on board the AI trend now. Since they are already late (in comparison to some other industries) in reacting to the trend, it is critical that they adapt to it to remain relevant and competitive.

However, the key barrier to AI implementation are the complex and outdated legacy systems that hold back innovation and digitization. The companies that do not manage to implement tech innovations in their legacy systems due to high cost might just be acting penny wise, pound foolish.

by EOS Intelligence EOS Intelligence No Comments

Is Technology the Solution to the Next Food Crisis?

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The UN estimates rapid population growth with additional 2-3 billion people globally by 2050. To feed this swelling population, food production needs to scale up by 70%, otherwise we are likely to be at risk of a global food crisis. With resources becoming scarce and climate change diminishing crop production by 2% per decade, food production methods need radical transformation and technology could be the possible solution to it. Using technology in farms and fields holds extraordinary promise of helping the agriculture sector become more efficient, productive, and sustainable.

Population increase, resource limitations, and climate change are putting pressure on farmers to produce more with less. To boost production it is essential to efficiently manage farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, optimize sowing and harvesting cycles, monitor field data (soil condition, plant stress, etc.) for improved crop yield, among others. However, managing these inputs is cumbersome and laborious without consistent and precise monitoring. Unfortunately, many farmers still rely on guess work and traditional processes instead of actual data to make all farming decisions. Technology could prove useful by helping farmers to closely monitor all farm activities and take informed data-driven decisions to improve production levels.

Technology can offer relief to pressures in agriculture

Emerging technologies such as weather tracking, robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT) can consistently monitor every aspect of agriculture such as soil fertility, health of farm animals, temperature and humidity conditions, optimal time to sow and harvest, schedule chemical application on fields, analyze irrigation requirements, among several other functions.

Weather forecast-based predictive modelling

Weather is a crucial determinant to ascertain the best time to sow, fertilize, spray, irrigate, and harvest crops. About 90% of crops losses are due to weather events and 25% of those losses could be avoided by using weather forecast-based predictive modelling on farms. Integrating weather forecast models with farming practices could enable better decision-making and improve crop yield. Companies such as John Deere, Ignitia, etc., already offer comprehensive weather-based farming solutions.

Robotics

Robotics is another emerging technology gaining traction in the agriculture sector. With robots capable of executing all functions from sowing to harvesting, they could easily replace human labor in the foreseeable future, particularly, at a time when some countries are facing labor shortage. For instance, in 2017, the UK suffered from 20% shortfall in migrant labors, which was mostly blamed on the Brexit vote that has made the UK unattractive for overseas workers to seek employment. The labor shortage is likely to get worse in 2018, making harvesting at labor-intensive vegetable and fruit fields difficult. Hence, some farms across the UK are considering to employ farm robots for vegetable and fruit picking.

Robots are also far more efficient than human labor, which is the key requirement to boost food production – each Harvest CROO Robotics’ robot (made by a US-based company that develops robots for the agriculture sector) is capable of harvesting eight acres in a day, which is equivalent to the work of 30 human pickers.

Internet of Things

Further, IoT has gained significance across several industries and has now entered the farms. IoT is turning farms into a mesh of smart sensors connected in a network, with the help of which every granular detail of crop, soil, livestock, or farm can be analyzed, thus, enabling farmers to devise smart cropping techniques and farming methods. IoT can streamline farming processes, reduce water consumption, and improve production and bottom lines.

EOS Perspective

Eventually, the growing population will put pressure on food supply. In such a scenario, digital farming is the best possible solution to escape the looming food crisis. Technology promises improved communication systems, precise monitoring devices, recommendations that could improve all processes between sowing and harvesting, and efficient livestock monitoring, among others, that could boost agricultural yields, reduce food wastage, decrease the inputs or resources needed per unit of output, and ensure sustainable farming practices.

However, most farmers have not adopted digital farming solutions and the use of technology is far from being a mass phenomenon yet. Cost is the most significant barrier to adoption, with most farms unable to bear the high upfront costs. Another common challenge is the lack of robust communication and internet network in rural areas as well as the absence of awareness and skills among farmers to apply technologies in farms.

Most farmers have not adopted digital farming solutions and the use of technology is far from being a mass phenomenon yet. Cost is the most significant barrier to adoption.

Consequently, the development of digital farming will require commitment and intervention by governments across the world, to offer incentives and cover the substantial start-up costs. Fortunately, few organizations have already started undertaking initiatives to tackle challenges. For instance, Mimosa Technology (a Vietnam-based IoT solution provider for agriculture sector) leases IoT-based hardware devices to farmers’ cooperatives in Vietnam to lessen the cost burden for smallholder farmers.

Initiatives are also being taken to ensure network connectivity and improve digital literacy in remote/rural areas – for example, governments of Thailand, India, or the UK, to name a few, are planning to boost digital connectivity in rural areas.

Eventually, technological innovations can be expected to make farming practices precise and to improve output. The use of digital farming solutions is an answer to the probable food crisis but for it to succeed, a mass adoption of technology across farms is a necessity. With growing awareness of benefits of automation in fields and efforts made by various organizations and governments to overcome challenges, digital farming would sooner than later transform the agriculture sector.

Brief description of companies and projects:

  • CropX: A USA-based agriculture-analytics company
  • CLAAS: A Germany-based agricultural machinery manufacturer
  • SmaXtec: An Austria-based provider of solutions to monitor livestock
  • Farmers Edge: A Canada-based company offering digital solutions for agriculture
  • The Weather Company: A USA-based weather forecasting and information technology company, a part of IBM
  • John Deere: A USA-based manufacturer of machinery for agriculture, construction, and forestry
  • Ignitia: A Sweden-based weather forecasting company
  • Robot Thorvald (to be launched): A robot developed by Saga Robotics, a Norway-based manufacturer of robots
  • Deepfield robotics: Robots developed by Bosch, a Germany-based engineering and electronics company
  • Hands Free Hectare: A project developed by Harper Adams University and Precision Decisions
  • Robot Agbot: A robot designed and built by QUT (an Australian university) with support from the Queensland Government
by EOS Intelligence EOS Intelligence No Comments

Infographic: Four Digital Trends in Aviation that Will Fly High in 2018

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Emerging technologies are sprawling over the aviation sector making travel seamless, convenient, automated, and personalized. Airports and airlines are adopting technologies that simplify the passengers’ travel experience by digitalizing baggage and boarding processes, making wayfinding in busy airports efficient, and making check-ins more rapid, among many others. Digitalization is not only helping to deliver greater customer satisfaction, but also minimizing costs, increasing revenue, and improving efficiency – for instance, within six months of chatbot usage, Aeromexcio was able to reduce average customer service resolution time via chat to two minutes from 16 minutes.

Some of the key technologies to flourish in aviation in 2018 include biometrics, artificial intelligence-powered chatbots, robotics, and Internet of Things. With emerging technologies set to redefine the travel experience, it is essential that the airports and airlines take action now to ascertain they are well-placed to tap the opportunity.

digital trends in aviation

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Note: Mexico-based airline:Volaris; Germany-based airline:Lufthansa; Netherlands-based airline:KLM; UK-based airline:Virgin Atlantic; USA-based airlines:Delta, JetBlue; Taiwan-based airline:EVA Air; New Zealand-based airline:Air New Zealand

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