EASE^® Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of African Asset Finance Company (AAFC) that provides state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment "as-a-service" to healthcare organizations, today announces the signing of its first customer. The contract, which marks the launch of the EASE^® Healthcare program in Ghana, will see the installation of a Siemens CT scanner in the Accra facility of FOCOS Orthopedic Hospital.

"We are thrilled to announce this deal to bring a new, best-in-class CT scanner to one of Ghana's leading healthcare providers," said Kanyinsola Oyeyinka, AAFC's VP Healthcare, Africa, responsible for AAFC's EASE^® Healthcare program across the continent.

"The EASE^® Healthcare program will support medical organisations across Africa in delivering the highest possible standard of health provision to their patients, and we are pleased to count FOCOS Hospital as one of our first customers."

Imraan Soomra, Chief Operations Officer of AAFC, added: "The Healthcare program is a significant element in our wider EASE^® initiative, enabling customers to utilise best-in-class equipment they would otherwise be unable to access, benefiting organizations and their users."

In recent years, FOCOS Orthopedic Hospital has undergone a period of significant growth in clinic attendance. Between 2020 and 2022, the number of patients rose 60% year-on-year to over 11,000 – a figure that continues to rise.

Through EASE^® Ghana's pay-per-scan service, the hospital will now be able to meet this increasing demand without facing exorbitant up-front costs – instead meeting the capital expense of its new Siemens CT scanner through cashflows generated in the use of the equipment itself.

"Our pay-per-use model ensures that healthcare providers like FOCOS are able to access the highest quality equipment, whilst also benefiting from maintenance provision, operator training and ongoing support," said Anita Appiah, EASE^® Ghana's Business Development Manager.

Dr Wulff, CEO of FOCOS Hospital commented: "With EASE, we're able to access first-rate diagnostic equipment for the hospital. This new scanner will add to our market-leading healthcare provision, enabling us to deliver an even higher quality of service to an even greater number of patients."

Dr Bernt Bieber, Senior Vice President, Siemens Healthineers comments: "The EASE program aligns with our purpose of making healthcare available to everyone, no matter where they live, and could meaningfully change the way healthcare is administered and accessed in the growing African market. We are excited to be part of it!"

EASE® Ghana will upgrade FOCOS Hospital's existing, non-functioning CT scanner with a new and upgraded CT from Siemens Healthineers (Somatom Go. Up CT 64 slice model). This new scanner will allow the hospital to significantly increase its daily exam volumes, boosting its ability to meet the needs of its patients without technical constraints on how many patients can be examined on a daily basis.

About EASE^®

Equipment-as-a-Service (EASE^®) is an AAFC program that provides access to high-quality equipment – including maintenance, training and support – to businesses and organizations across Africa, allowing them to pay for the use of the equipment with the cashflows the equipment itself helps to generate.

EASE^® addresses and alleviates the need to invest capital in equipment, contributes to the circular economy, and allows customers to focus on total cost of ownership and quality instead of concentrating on the initial cash outlay.

About FOCOS

FOCOS Hospital is a highly reputable and experienced operator in the orthopedics specialty in Ghana. It is a 60-bed private, not-for-profit orthopedic hospital and has served over 75,000 patients from across the West African Region over the past 11 years. FOCOS Hospital's medical teams have conducted circa 3,800 complex spine, joint replacements, and other surgeries.