By Celestine Okorie, Bureau Chief, Southern Africa

African Asset Finance Company (AAFC) Tuesday announced the expansion of its groundbreaking EASE® (Equipment as a Service) Healthcare programme in Southern Africa and opened a subsidiary in Johannesburg, EASE® South Africa (Pty) Limited. The Southern Africa regional expansion marks an important step in EASE®’s geographic footprint, which launched last year in Ghana and Nigeria.

“Opening EASE® South Africa is a tremendous milestone in our healthcare practice,” said VP of Healthcare, Kanyinsola Oyeyinka,demand for health services continues to increase annually. “We see great demand from rapidly growing medical facilities in Southern Africa, seeking access to state-of-the-art equipment on flexible terms that allow them to grow their portfolio of services without tapping into equity or credit.”

EASE’s® Healthcare expansion to Southern Africa underscores AAFC’s commitment to advancing health outcomes and overcoming critical challenges faced by healthcare systems throughout Africa.

AAFC’s COO Imraan Soomra added: “The EASE® Healthcare program continues to be a significant element of our wider EASE® initiatives, enabling customers to access equipment on terms that match their circumstances and business needs.” Soomra added, “We believe equipment-as-a-service is poised to change businesses’ approach to equipment purchasing permanently in emerging markets and we’re proud to enable this change with EASE®.”

EASE South Africa will initially focus on providing advanced diagnostic and radiology equipment, including CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine scanners to healthcare facilities. The team will leverage EASE®’s extensive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner network to offer customers state-of-the-art equipment that meets business requirements.

Expressing optimism about the launch, Business Development Manager for EASE Healthcare in South Africa stated, Daniel Doetz “the introduction of our pay-per-scan model in Southern Africa creates an opportunity to expand access to healthcare in the region. Our team works diligently with healthcare facilities to build service programs that align patient flows, payments and reimbursements to create a win-win solution for patients and the facility.”