A Soweto based tech start-up company, Khoi Tech (Pty) Ltd, is shaking the tech market with its first offering, the Khoi Afriwatch1 health & fitness smart-watch.
Khoi Afriwatch1 caters for three categories; health & wellness, sports & fitness and communications.
For health, it provides real-time information on vital health metrics including heart rate, body temperature, blood oxygen saturation (spo2), stress levels and sleep patterns. This can result in the early detection and management of potential diseases like fevers, heart attacks, or strokes.
It supports 12 sports modes, music control, alarm clock, call notification and rejection, message alerts, social media notifications and even remote phone-camera access.
Khoi Afriwatch1 has remarkable battery life, lasting up to four days on a single charge while continuously monitoring vital health data.
Khoi Afriwatch smart-watches use open-source apps for individual usage which are compatible to Android, IOS and Huawei operating systems. The open-source apps also easily integrate with other sports and heath applications including Strava, Apple health, Samsung Fit etc.
Khoi Tech differentiates itself against the dominant multinational smart-watch brands by being innovative and has developed a unique software application that is tailored for corporates and sports teams use. This has opened opportunities within the corporate, sports teams and medical market sectors for modules such as employee wellness, data driven sports training programs and Dr to patient remote monitoring.
Another important feature is the ability to enable real-time alerts to the wearers’ family members and employers in the case of emergencies which has the potential to save lives.
“With this data at your wrist, quick life-saving interventions become possible, revolutionising personal healthcare and employee wellness, especially with the hybrid work-from-home scenario” says Seati Moloi, the founder and CEO of Khoi Tech.
The unique and tailored offering for corporates has resulted in increased interest from various SA companies, government departments and sports teams.
Khoi Tech created the Afriwatch1 smart-watch in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company then approached Telkom with the concept. After a thorough evaluation, R500 000 was granted through the Telkom FutureMakers Programme for further research and development. With the financial and resources support provided by Telkom, Khoi Tech has been able to complete its research and development as well as refine the technology stack.
Khoi Tech conducted clinical trials with a leading Soweto private clinic, Vilakazi Health Care. The trials were designed to validate Khoi smart watches’ health data against their clinical machines’ data. The data that was tested and validated includes heart rate, body temperature, spo2 and blood pressure with the results of 94% accuracy rate on average.
South Africa’s national cricket team physiotherapist approached Khoi Tech requesting to test the Khoi Afriwatch1 after having followed Khoi Tech on its social media pages; @Khoi.africa on Facebook & Instagram and @KhoiAfrica on Twitter (X).
Khoi Tech provided two Afriwatch1 smartwatches for testing purposes which came back with a positive feedback.
“What impressed the technical team is not only the ability to collect and report on groups training data, but also sleeping data which we learnt is critical for players’ recovery during tournaments.” Ads Moloi
Having only launched in October last year, a vote of confidence like this is a major step forward for Khoi Tech – a company that differentiates itself from competing multinational smart-watch brands by being innovative.
Khoi Tech is a member of Proudly South Africa and Khoi Afriwatch1 is tested and approved by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Khoi Afriwatch2, which also includes a blood pressure monitoring feature, will be launched first quater of 2024, as well as other consumer tech products including smart glasses and wireless earphones.
“What Khoi Tech has achieved is a testament to Africa’s potential to develop world-class tech solutions that cater to humanity’s needs not just locally, but globally as well,” says Telkom’s Group Executive for Innovation and Transformation, Dr Mmaki Jantjies. “We are proud to support and invest in local innovation.”
Khoi Afriwatch1 smart-watch retails for only R2499.00 and is available online at www.khoi.africa as well as on Makro’s online store; www.makro.co.za for free delivery anywhere in South Africa. It will also be available at Telkom stores in the near future.
ENDS.
