The global health tech market is poised for exponential growth. GlobeNewswire projects it to reach $549.7 billion by 2028, up from $180.2 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% during the forecast period.
Africa’s health tech landscape mirrors this growth, with a market size valued at USD 3.8 billion in 2023 and projected to grow at a CAGR of 23.4% from 2024 to 2030. This growth is fuelled by increased smartphone usage, improved internet access and the urgent need to meet healthcare demands for the continent’s rapidly growing youth population.
Yet, the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields limits the diversity of ideas and perspectives in developing health technologies to meet this demand.
As South Africa commemorates Women’s Month, a time to honour the achievements and resilience of women, we highlight a woman who is redefining what’s possible in health technology in our country.
Nomfundo Khabela’s curiosity, hope and kindness are not only core to her identity but also integral to her approach as a leader and professional in health technology.
From aspiring doctor to health tech leader
Khabela’s story is one of purpose and authenticity. From a young age, she imagined herself as a doctor, drawn by a desire to help others. “On reaching matric, I reconsidered the prospect of seven more years of study and opted to pursue a BSc in Human Nutrition, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Nutrition. This new approach enabled me to combine scientific training with community engagement, strengthening my dedication to making a real difference in healthcare,” she recalls.
She began her career as a medical sales representative at a large pharmaceutical company. After a few years, she transitioned into a Sales Management role at another organisation and went on to gain further experience across several companies.
Today, she is a strategic relationships executive at Healthbridge, a leading provider of cloud-based medical billing and clinical solutions, where she leads strategic account management and contributes to executive-level business growth.
Defining her leadership style
Her journey has always centred on service: a balance of ambition, practicality and a deep sense of responsibility to society’s well-being.
Khabela describes herself as “kind, hopeful, curious”. These attributes are not just personal values; they are central to her leadership philosophy. She believes that kindness and caring are the foundations of effective leadership, fostering team cohesion and psychological safety. “Kindness and caring are the two most important qualities a leader should have. When men and women have these as their core values, assertiveness doesn’t need to be managed,” she notes.
Her perspective challenges persistent double standards, where women’s assertiveness is sometimes misinterpreted. She believes that cultures rooted in compassion allow leaders to transcend stereotypes, benefiting teams and organisations.
Weaving value-based healthcare into her purpose
Khabela’s ethos finds its strongest professional expression in her advocacy for value-based healthcare (VBC), specifically, patient-centred payment models. She is a champion of reforming South Africa’s private healthcare sector to move beyond traditional fee-for-service (FFS) structures, which reward quantity over quality and often exclude proactive and preventive care. “Too often, healthcare is reduced to procedures and transactions,” she says. “But people are not case files, they’re human beings with complex needs that deserve attention beyond a billing code,” she says.
Having recently earned her Value-Based Healthcare Black Belt certification through the Value-Based Healthcare Centre Europe and facilitated by The Decision Institute, Khabela has moved from theory to practice, developing a practical, future-focused vision for care that rewards outcomes, not volumes. “Value-based care enables providers to focus on quality by supporting the full spectrum of care, from prevention to chronic disease management,” she explains. “You can’t expect excellence from a system that’s not designed, or funded, to deliver it.”
Patients also benefit from increased autonomy and transparency, selecting care teams based on quality and cost. “It’s about fairness,” she says. “Real choice drives real accountability.”
For Khabela, this model is about more than just funding; it’s about re-imagining the entire system around dignity, equity and impact. “Above all, value-based care is a call to maintain a people-centred approach. Technology is a means to an end, that end being quality healthcare for all. Every new app, platform or device should ultimately be measured by the human stories: the mother whose pregnancy complication was caught in time because of a remote alert; the child who survived an asthma attack because a drone delivered the medication; the grandmother who can manage her hypertension from home with regular check-ins instead of taking a day-long trip to her nearest clinic. These are the stories that showcase the heart of Africa’s digital health revolution,” she states.
Challenging bias and advocating for women in health tech
Khabela is keenly aware that the journey to leadership in STEM and health tech is often more challenging for women. The sector still displays biases, both subtle and overt, where authority is often questioned and assertiveness can be misunderstood.
She doesn’t shy away from calling out bias when she sees it. She leads with conviction and care, believing that progress in healthcare also means progress in leadership. “Empathy and strength are not opposites; they belong together,” she says. “That’s the kind of leadership style I try to model, and the kind I would like to see more of in our industry.”
Advice for the next generation, and an invitation
Khabela serves as a role model by demonstrating that there is no single pathway to success in health technology. Her advice to young women is clear: embrace resilience, follow curiosity and never lose sight of the profound difference compassionate and value-driven care can make to communities.
“You don’t have to follow a conventional path to make a meaningful difference,” she says. “Ask questions and let your curiosity guide you; and never underestimate the power of leading with empathy and purpose.”
She would like to see more women, especially Black and disadvantaged women, becoming systems engineers, programmers and data analysts.
“It’s not a lack of skill that is holding them back, but a lack of exposure. At Healthbridge, we firmly believe that women are a driving force in shaping the future of health tech, and we invite talented women in STEM to join us in making a positive difference,” she concludes.
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