For many South Africans, especially those in townships and rural communities, getting healthcare often starts with long queues, missed appointments and poor communication. A new South African digital health platform hopes to change that by using artificial intelligence to make healthcare easier to access and manage.
Technology company Knockturnal has launched Hlokomela, an AI-powered platform that connects patients, healthcare providers and administrators in one secure system. Named after the SePedi word meaning “to care for”, the platform manages the full appointment process, from booking and confirmation to rescheduling, consultations and follow-up.
Founder Moses Tjege from Limpopo said the platform was designed with South Africa’s healthcare realities in mind.
“This is central to why we built Hlokomela. The platform reaches patients on any phone. Booking confirmations, reminders and rescheduling are delivered by SMS as well as email, so a patient does not need a smartphone or a data bundle to stay informed about their appointment. That alone removes a major barrier in townships and rural areas,” he said.
Offline-first platform
Tjege added that they are building Hlokomela as an offline-first platform to support clinics and healthcare workers operating in areas with poor connectivity.
“We are deliberately building Hlokomela as an offline-first platform so that it can work in places where connectivity fails. Rural clinics, mobile outreach points and community health workers moving between villages.”
At launch, Hlokomela was focused on private and independent healthcare providers, but Tjege said the long-term goal is to work alongside the public healthcare system.
“We are building on health-data standards (FHIR) precisely so that Hlokomela can, over time, exchange information with national systems. We see Hlokomela working alongside public healthcare, not apart from it.”
Providers can manage their schedules, accept or decline appointments, complete consultations and collect patient feedback, while administrators oversee provider activity across the platform.
‘Solving practical problems’
Tjege said the technology is focused on solving practical problems.
“Today the intelligence is practical rather than experimental. It matches patients to suitable providers based on specialty, location and availability, it manages scheduling in real time and prevents double-bookings; and it drives automated reminders that reduce missed appointments.”
Patients will not pay to use the service.
“Patients pay nothing to search for providers and book appointments. The platform is offered to providers on an affordable subscription basis.”
According to Tjege, English will be the launch language, with multilingual support already planned.
“The name itself, is a Sepedi word so building for South Africa’s languages is part of the platform’s identity, not an afterthought,” Tjege said.
Knockturnal plans to begin a provider pilot in the fourth quarter of 2026, onboarding up to 500 healthcare providers before expanding the platform more broadly.
- Knockturnal launched Hlokomela, an AI-powered digital health platform to improve healthcare access and management in South Africa, especially in townships and rural areas.
- The platform supports appointment booking, confirmation, rescheduling, consultations, and follow-ups via SMS and email, requiring no smartphone or data.
- Hlokomela operates as an offline-first system to function in areas with poor connectivity, targeting private and independent providers initially with plans to integrate into the public healthcare system.
- The platform uses practical AI to match patients to providers, manage scheduling, prevent double bookings, and send automated reminders to reduce missed appointments.
- Patients use the service for free, while providers pay a subscription, with a pilot program planned for Q4 2026 to onboard up to 500 healthcare providers.
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"We are building on health-data standards (FHIR) precisely so that
Providers can manage their schedules, accept or decline appointments, complete consultations and collect patient feedback, while administrators oversee provider activity across the platform.
Tjege said the technology is focused on solving practical problems.
"Today the intelligence is practical rather than experimental. It matches patients to suitable providers based on specialty, location and availability, it manages scheduling in real time and prevents double-bookings; and it drives automated reminders that reduce missed appointments."
Patients will not pay to use the service.
"Patients pay nothing to search for providers and book appointments.
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Knockturnal plans to begin a provider pilot in the fourth quarter of 2026, onboarding up to 500 healthcare providers before expanding the platform more broadly.
