Startup Story

Juanita Coetzee is the Founder of JooL, a pioneering health tech company launched in 2022 and dedicated to enhancing patient care through innovative digital solutions. Hailing from South Africa, Juanita brings a wealth of experience in healthcare management and technology integration. With a strong commitment to improving healthcare accessibility, she has successfully led JooL in developing platforms that bridge gaps between informal caregivers and access to healthcare information, resources and tools. Her leadership and vision are driving significant advancements in telemedicine and chronic disease management, making healthcare more efficient and inclusive for underserved populations.

LoA spoke to founder Juanita Coetzee about her inspiration to launch JooL, her passion for healthcare, and her vision for the business.

What does your company do?

JooL is a health tech company that provides comprehensive support for informal caregivers. Utilizing AI avatars and facial recognition technology, JooL offers innovative tools to assist caregivers in monitoring and managing the health of their care recipients. The JooL platform includes the JooL Academy, which delivers educational resources and training to enhance caregiver skills and knowledge. By focusing on empowering caregivers with advanced technological solutions and educational support, JooL aims to significantly improve the caregiving experience and outcomes for both caregivers and those they care for.

What inspired you to start your company?

What makes JooL truly special is its dedicated focus on supporting the unsung heroes of healthcare – informal caregivers. These caregivers often experience high levels of burnout and stress due to the lack of resources and information available to them. JooL addresses these challenges by providing real-time, accessible support globally.

Our platform utilizes advanced AI technology to deliver personalized caregiving solutions. Caregivers can access information and resources in their chosen language and tailored to their specific needs, including considerations for race, ethnicity, culture, and religion. This level of personalization ensures that caregivers receive relevant and respectful support.

Moreover, JooL’s innovative use of AI avatars and facial recognition technology enhances the caregiving experience by offering sophisticated tools to monitor and manage patient well-being effectively. By combining cutting-edge technology with a deep understanding of caregiver needs, JooL empowers caregivers to provide high-quality care while also taking care of their own well-being. This unique blend of technology and empathy sets JooL apart in the caregiving industry.

My inspiration to start JooL stemmed from a personal journey when my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2020. My niece, her informal caregiver, frequently sought my advice. Leveraging my 20 years in healthcare, I consulted my network of clinicians to provide the necessary support. After my mother passed, I realized the moral imperative to bring this level of support to market, democratize access to healthcare, and fight for health justice. This personal experience drives my commitment to revolutionize caregiving through JooL.

Why should anyone use your service or product?

What makes JooL truly special is its dedicated focus on supporting the unsung heroes of healthcare – informal caregivers. These caregivers often experience high levels of burnout and stress due to the lack of resources and information available to them. JooL addresses these challenges by providing real-time, accessible support globally.

Our platform utilizes advanced AI technology to deliver personalized caregiving solutions. Caregivers can access information and resources in their chosen language and tailored to their specific needs, including considerations for race, ethnicity, culture, and religion. This level of personalization ensures that caregivers receive relevant and respectful support.

Moreover, JooL’s innovative use of AI avatars and facial recognition technology enhances the caregiving experience by offering sophisticated tools to monitor and manage patient well-being effectively. By combining cutting-edge technology with a deep understanding of caregiver needs, JooL empowers caregivers to provide high-quality care while also taking care of their own well-being. This unique blend of technology and empathy sets JooL apart in the caregiving industry.

Tell us a little about your team:

Juanita Coetzee - Founder & CEO

Qualifications: Master’s in healthcare management, Harvard Business School Strategy Certificate.
Experience: 17 years in healthcare management (Africa and the Middle East), Operating Principal for a private equity firm, COO for a major GCC healthcare services company.
Skills: Proficiency in managing complex businesses in expanding markets, strategic leadership, and investor relations.
Hendrik Coetzee - Chief Technical Officer
Qualifications: Bachelor of Economics (Computer Science), University of Stellenbosch; pursuing Disruptive Thinking at Harvard Business School Online.
Experience: 30 years leading transformative technology initiatives, operational excellence across diverse sectors, including roles at Amazon, HSBC, and ADQ.
Skills: Strategy, digital transformation, business intelligence, and e-commerce.

Dr. Mazin Elsaid - Chief Medical Officer
Qualifications: MBBS, Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare Management and Leadership.
Experience: Over 14 years in healthcare, ACHSI Assessor, regular speaker in GCC on Care Coordination, Home Healthcare, and Long-Term Care.
Skills: Clinical leadership, healthcare standards, and care coordination.

Dr. Yaseen Alkamas Ph.D, CFA - Chief Financial Officer
Qualifications: Ph.D. in Aeronautical Engineering, CFA charter holder, Diploma in Macro Strategy Management. Experience: Asset management, portfolio strategy, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and private equity investments. Former COO of a family office and private equity firm in Abu Dhabi, and CFO for SLU Enterprise LLC in the USA.
Skills: Financial strategy, investment management, and corporate finance.

Maureen Almai - Chief Clinical Officer
Qualifications: Master of Science in Nursing, The University of London.
Experience: Extensive healthcare sector experience, Founder & CEO of a home health services company in Abu Dhabi, achieving International Accreditation and pioneering a tailored Electronic Medical Record system for homecare clients.
Skills: Clinical operations, healthcare innovation, and accreditation processes.

Advisory Board:

Linda Goler Blount - Senior Strategic Advisor

Qualifications: Master's in Epidemiology, University of Michigan.
Experience: Over 25 years in public health, for-profit, and non-profit sectors. President and CEO of Black Women’s Health Imperative, roles at United Way, Coca-Cola, and CDC.
Skills: Public health leadership, health equity, and strategic planning.

Prof. Judith Bruce - Senior Strategic Advisor
Qualifications: Specialist Nurse Educator, Vice President of the Academy of Nursing in South Africa, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Experience: Over 30 years in higher education, Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, lead advisor for clinical training on South Africa’s National Strategy for Nurse Education.
Skills: Nursing education, clinical training, and strategic development

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

My entrepreneurial journey began with my experience in private equity, where I was responsible for establishing platform companies. This role was akin to starting new businesses from the ground up, particularly focusing on impactful projects across Africa. My background in building successful businesses for various impact projects gave me a solid foundation in finance, healthcare management, design, policy creation, and operations.

Drawing on these skills, I decided to tackle the global epidemic of the aging population. My journey took a more personal turn in 2020 when my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. During this time, my niece served as her informal caregiver, and I provided support by leveraging my network of clinicians. This experience highlighted the critical need for accessible, real-time support for informal caregivers.

I founded JooL to address this gap. JooL leverages advanced AI technology to deliver personalized caregiving solutions, providing resources and support in multiple languages and tailored to diverse cultural needs. This blend of cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of caregiver needs makes JooL a unique and impactful solution in the caregiving industry. While my professional background is primarily in private equity and healthcare management, my role in establishing platform companies required entrepreneurial skills and mindset. I have successfully built businesses from the ground up, focusing on creating impactful solutions. This experience, combined with my personal drive to support informal caregivers, has fueled my entrepreneurial journey with JooL. My diverse skill set in finance, healthcare, design, and operations has been instrumental in developing JooL into a platform.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

Our future plans for JooL are ambitious and centered on scaling our impact globally, enhancing our technological capabilities, and securing strategic exits.

Global Expansion: We aim to expand JooL's reach to different regions, starting with our prototyping in Atlanta, US. Following this, we plan to enter the European market, focusing initially on the Netherlands, and then expanding to Germany and the UK, followed by South Saharan Africa and South East Asia. This geographic diversification will help us address the caregiving needs of various populations, adapting our platform to different cultural and healthcare landscapes.

Technological Advancements: We are committed to continuously enhancing our platform with next-generation AI capabilities. This includes refining our AI avatars, improving facial recognition technology for pain management, and integrating advanced natural language processing to offer personalized and culturally sensitive support to caregivers. These innovations will ensure that caregivers receive real-time, precise, and empathetic assistance.

Scaling Operations: As we scale, we plan to establish strategic partnerships with healthcare organizations, insurance companies, and government bodies. These partnerships will help integrate JooL into broader healthcare systems, increasing our platform’s credibility and reach. We also aim to build a robust ecosystem of support by collaborating with universities and research centers to leverage their expertise and networks.

Social Impact and JooL Academy: We will expand the JooL Academy as one of our verticals, providing comprehensive training and educational resources to caregivers worldwide. By offering accredited courses and practical training, we aim to upskill caregivers, enhance their job prospects, and improve the quality of care provided.

Strategic Exits: In the long term, we foresee potential strategic exits, such as acquisition by an international insurer or a merger with a larger healthcare technology company. These exits would enable JooL to scale even further, integrating our innovative solutions into a wider array of healthcare services and reaching more caregivers and patients globally.

By focusing on these strategic areas, we aim to make a significant positive impact on the caregiving landscape, empowering informal caregivers with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to provide exceptional care. Our vision is to revolutionize caregiving, democratize access to healthcare resources, and advocate for health justice on a global scale.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

What gives me the most satisfaction as an entrepreneur is the opportunity to drive innovation and development in areas where traditional institutions often fall short. The challenges facing the global population, particularly in healthcare and caregiving, require fresh perspectives and disruptive solutions. Being part of a startup like JooL allows me to be at the forefront of creating impactful change.

It is incredibly inspiring to know that our work directly addresses the critical needs of informal caregivers, who are often overlooked by conventional healthcare systems.

The satisfaction also comes from the ability to move quickly and iterate on solutions based on real-world feedback. In a startup environment, we can experiment, learn, and adapt more rapidly than larger, more bureaucratic organizations. This agility enables us to develop and refine our platform to meet the evolving demands of caregivers and their patients effectively.

Moreover, being part of a broader movement of innovators and disruptors who are challenging the status quo and making tangible differences in people’s lives is profoundly motivating. The realization that our efforts contribute to democratizing access to healthcare resources and advocating for health justice on a global scale fills me with a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Ultimately, the blend of leveraging cutting-edge technology, addressing significant global challenges, and seeing the real-world impact of our solutions is what brings me the most joy and satisfaction as an entrepreneur. It is the drive to be part of the solution and make a lasting, positive impact on the world that keeps me inspired every day.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

The biggest piece of advice I can give to other women looking to start their own ventures is to embrace resilience and leverage your unique perspective as a strength. As a female entrepreneur of color, I’ve learned that the journey can be challenging, but these challenges are what shape you into a stronger, more innovative leader.

Leverage Your Unique Perspective: Your background, experiences, and insights are invaluable. They allow you to see gaps and opportunities that others might overlook. Use this to your advantage to create solutions that truly address the needs of your target audience.

Build a Strong Network: Surround yourself with mentors, peers, and allies who believe in your vision. Networking can open doors to opportunities, provide support during tough times, and offer valuable advice. Don’t be afraid to reach out and build these connections.

Stay Resilient and Adaptable: The entrepreneurial journey is fraught with obstacles. There will be setbacks and rejections, but each is a learning opportunity. Stay resilient and be willing to adapt your approach based on feedback and new insights.

Advocate for Yourself and Others: As women, and particularly women of color, we often face additional barriers. Advocate for your ideas and ensure your voice is heard. Also, support and uplift other women in the entrepreneurial space, creating a community of empowerment.

Focus on Your Mission: Keep your mission at the core of everything you do. For me, it was about addressing the critical needs of informal caregivers with JooL. Having a clear mission helps guide your decisions and keeps you motivated through the ups and downs.

Embrace Technology and Innovation: Don’t shy away from leveraging the latest technologies to solve problems. Innovation is key to staying ahead and creating impactful solutions. Stay curious and continuously seek out ways to improve your product or service.

Starting a business is a bold and courageous step. By embracing your unique strengths, building a supportive network, staying resilient, and staying true to your mission, you can overcome obstacles and create lasting impact. Remember, your journey can inspire and pave the way for other women to follow.

Find out more:

Email: juanita@jool.health

Website: https://www.jool.health/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/8yn9UtLj0Q4

Why LoA loves it…

Having a clear understanding of your WHY and what drives you to launch a business is key to success, combined with the passion and determination needed to make it a reality. Juanita Coetzee has a big vision and the drive and commitment to realize it, transforming caregiving by leveraging the power of AI technology to find much-needed global solutions. This is a high-growth, high-impact potential business to watch over the coming months and years as it works to make a real difference in people’s lives. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa