DOTOH is designed to address one underlying challenge: people need healthcare that fits into their lives and providers need better ways to stay connected to the people they serve.
Our digital health and teleconsultation platform that remotely connects underserved communities to licensed healthcare providers. It is a one-stop-shop providing appointment booking, synchronous/asynchronous voice, video or chat consultations, preventive health information, secure electronic health records, referrals to nearby pharmacies and clinics, and health education in local languages.
Technology to support not replace
We are not building technology to replace the healthcare relationship. We are building technology that makes it easier for people to reach the right care and ask the questions they need to ask.
As a company we ask, what would healthcare look like if women, girls, youth and families had more options for deciding when, where and how they seek care? We design around four key customer groups:
- For adolescent girls, DOTOH provides a safe and approachable way to seek trusted guidance, helping them make better-informed decisions, recognise when they need professional support and reach appropriate care without unnecessary disruption to school or daily life.
- For pregnant/postpartum mothers who may have difficulty maintaining consistent care because of distance, transport costs, childcare responsibilities or fragmented services, DOTOH’s remote support can make routine guidance more convenient while helping them recognise situations that require skilled care.
- For men navigating contraception, fertility, sexually transmitted infection prevention and decisions about when to have their next child, DOTOH is a trusted and confidential starting point for asking questions they may otherwise avoid.
- For healthcare providers, DOTOH offers new ways to reach patients, conduct appropriate remote consultations, follow up after consultations and extend their support beyond a physical facility.
Since our founding in 2023, results have provided encouraging signals. DOTOH has supported more than 1,000 users through services such as chat messaging, asynchronous communication, health education content or video consultation. It has reduced reported care delays from weeks to less than 24 hours, while more than 90 percent of users have reported improved health knowledge and more than 60 percent have returned for follow-up care.
What we are building
The UNICEF Venture Fund investment is supporting DOTOH's next stage of product development. We are developing three AI-enabled and automated features designed to make the healthcare experience more responsive: automated appointment reminders, a smart AI chatbot and automated follow-up care.
Together, these three features are designed to remove unnecessary friction from healthcare without removing the human relationship at its centre. As we integrate AI features – even with 24/7 automated access – when professional judgement is required, the system helps people reach a qualified healthcare provider.
DOTOH is also building towards greater openness around its technology, through open-source licensing, compliance with Digital Public Goods Alliance requirements and documentation through trusted global health information systems.
Our engagement in the data privacy and security mentorship as part of UNICEF Femtech Ventures has helped us think more carefully about how to approach sensitive health data, consent, access, security and responsible digital care, as we refine our privacy and data-retention policies.
For an adolescent girl asking a sensitive question, for a pregnant mother sharing information about her health, for a couple seeking fertility and contraception guidance, for a provider conducting a digital consultation: trust matters.
Learning to build with users
The DOTOH model depends on relationships with licensed healthcare providers, referral facilities, pharmacies and laboratories, digital and technology partners, mobile network and payment infrastructure, and the broader health ecosystem. In Benin, we are building evidence through planned user testing sessions to assess user feedback, provider feedback, satisfaction rates, repeat use, and insights on people’s choice for digital care.
As we scale, we want to understand what should remain consistent, and what must change to fit each target market.
Being part of Femtech Ventures has also allowed us to learn alongside other founders building solutions towards better access to care for women and girls across Africa and Asia. It has pushed us to think beyond building a digital health platform. We are learning how to build a service people can trust, providers can use, and the health system can work with. For Dotoh, that distinction is key.
