What does it really take to deliver health and household products to the last mile at scale?
Joanna Bichsel is the Founder and CEO of Kasha, the leading digital commerce and last-mile delivery platform in Africa focused on health products and household goods. In this episode, Joanna shares how Kasha was born and scaled across nine countries to deliver over 110 million products. We unpack the tactics that have allowed her to scale her impact, including the varied and sometimes unlikely partnerships she’s needed to balance. Tune in to hear how this technology startup partnered with the government of Rwanda to create access to emergency contraceptives for young women, and how Kasha is working with global life sciences companies like Roche to help more women access breast cancer treatment.
This episode features insights from Jörg-Michael Rupp, who oversees Roche’s work in over 100 countries. Roche is an industry leader and global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives around the world. This episode was recorded live at Africa Tech Festival 2025 in Cape Town, one of the continent’s largest gatherings of industry leaders, startups, and investors.
In This Episode
(00m54s) Meet Joanna and Kasha. Joanna Bichsel is the founder and CEO of Kasha, a fast-growing health access platform transforming how medicines and essential goods reach people across Africa.
(06m56s) Origin Story. Joanna shares the unexpected path that led her from Microsoft Corporation and the Gates Foundation to launching a startup in Rwanda.
(12m11s) Early Fundraising is a Struggle. Joanna recounts the brutal early months of trying to raise capital as a first-time female founder in Africa—and the mindset she needed to keep moving forward even when quitting would have been so much easier.
(17m03s) Partnering with the Government of Rwanda to Create Access to Emergency Contraception. Scaling healthcare requires more than technology—it demands collaboration with governments and policymakers. Joanna explains how Kasha, as a tech startup, is well-suited to managing real-time data and on-the-ground insights. This is the value they were uniquely positioned to provide the Government of Rwanda in order to inform national policy to expand access to emergency contraception for young women.
(21m53s) Partnering with the Global Pharmaceutical Company Roche. Joanna unpacks Kasha’s partnership with Roche and how collaboration with industry-leading pharmaceutical companies can dramatically improve access to life-saving medicines. Together, Kasha and Roche have developed innovative financing and distribution models to make breast cancer treatments more affordable for patients.
(28m54s) The Problem with Impact Investors. Joanna shares her candid and controversial perspective on impact investing in Africa. She challenges investors not only to build scalable businesses but also to take a long hard look at the double burden forced upon social enterprises by unrealistic impact metrics.
(34m45s) Perspectives from Roche. Jörg-Michael Rupp, who oversees Roche’s work in over 100 countries and is one of Kasha’s partners, elaborates on why solving healthcare access requires collaboration across industries. No single organization can solve healthcare challenges alone, but together we can dramatically expand patient access to treatment.
(36m57s) Stronger together. Breast cancer advocate Dr. Carol Benn highlights the real-world complexity of tackling women’s health challenges. She explains why meaningful progress depends on honest collaboration between governments, clinicians, innovators, and the private sector—even and especially when the roadmap ahead is unclear.
If you enjoyed this conversation about healthcare access at the last mile, check out these related podcasts: The Medicine Supply Chain in Africa and The Future of Pharmacy with Remedial Health.
Key Quotes
“Success in business in Africa is staying alive and continuing to go on.” — Joanna Bichsel
“If we put the patient in the center of the solution and collaborate, we can solve these challenges together.” — Jörg-Michael Rupp
“Impact doesn’t come from ignoring the market. It comes from understanding it.” — Rowena Luk
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Africa Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world.
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