Founder Fridays : Mkazi

Sometimes the best business ideas begin with a simple observation. For Siphiwo Peace Mjwara and his co-founders, it was something they noticed every time they visited public healthcare facilities. While hand hygiene is recognised as one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infections, there was little visibility into whether patients or healthcare workers were consistently following those practices. Compliance was largely monitored manually, making it difficult to measure performance or identify areas that needed improvement.

instead of accepting it as another challenge within the healthcare system, they saw an opportunity to solve it through technology. That idea became Mkazi Concepts, a South African health technology company focused on digital infection prevention and control solutions, and later led to the development of Sensani, the company’s flagship smart hygiene compliance platform.

Identifying a Real Problem

Siphiwo says the company was never built around technology for its own sake. It started with a practical problem that the founding team believed could be addressed more effectively through better data and automation.

His co-founders, twins Zama and Mulero, had long been conscious of hygiene practices in public spaces. During visits to healthcare facilities, they noticed that patients were rarely encouraged to sanitise their hands, while monitoring of hygiene compliance among healthcare workers appeared limited. Looking deeper into the issue, the founders discovered that many healthcare facilities still relied on manual processes to monitor infection prevention and control.

“We were just citizens noticing a problem and wanting to remedy it,” Siphiwo explains. That simple observation became the foundation on which Mkazi Concepts was built.

Although healthcare was not the founders’ professional background, it was an area they understood as everyday users of public health services. Their goal was not to replace existing healthcare systems but to strengthen them by providing better visibility into hygiene practices and compliance.

From an Idea to Sensani

Interestingly, Sensani was not originally designed for hospitals. The first concept focused on improving hygiene within South Africa’s public transport system, where large numbers of commuters shared confined spaces with limited access to handwashing facilities. The founders initially envisioned an automated sanitation station capable of identifying users and recording hygiene activity.

Further research confirmed that healthcare offered the strongest opportunity. While infection prevention protocols required healthcare workers to follow strict hand hygiene practices, many facilities still depended on manual systems to monitor compliance.

That insight prompted the team to pivot. Sensani evolved into an IoT-enabled infection prevention and control platform that combines smart sanitation hardware, near-field communication (NFC) technology, cloud integration and data analytics. The system allows healthcare facilities to monitor hygiene compliance in real time while generating operational insights that support infection prevention programmes.

For Siphiwo, the technology itself is only part of the solution. The real value lies in providing healthcare providers with reliable data that helps improve patient safety and operational decision-making.

Turning Innovation into Adoption

Developing technology is one challenge. Convincing healthcare institutions to adopt it is another. Siphiwo says introducing innovation into healthcare has required patience, particularly when engaging with private healthcare providers. Larger institutions typically expect technologies to demonstrate proven market performance before considering implementation.

Public healthcare has presented a different opportunity. Working with the City of Johannesburg, Mkazi Concepts secured an opportunity to deploy Sensani within one of the city’s healthcare facilities, allowing the company to validate the technology under real operating conditions. Encouraged by the early results, the city has since indicated plans to expand the solution into additional regions, providing the company with valuable operational data while supporting broader adoption of the platform.

For Siphiwo, these early deployments represent more than customer wins. They provide the evidence needed to refine the product, demonstrate measurable outcomes and build confidence among future clients.

Growing One Milestone at a Time

Since launching Mkazi Concepts, the company has received recognition through programmes including the Technology Innovation Agency Grassroots Innovator of the Year, Bridge for Billions, The Innovation Hub Gauteng Accelerator Programme, Innovest Africa and the City of Johannesburg Smart City Innovation Challenge.

instead of viewing awards as the destination, Siphiwo sees them as markers of progress. “The first one tells you that you’re on to something,” he says. “The most recent one reflects where your business is today.”

The support provided through these programmes has enabled Mkazi Concepts to improve its technology, build inventory and continue validating its solution while moving towards commercial scale.

That journey has also reinforced an important lesson. Innovation alone does not build a successful business. Every assumption must be tested, every milestone validated and every stage of growth supported by real evidence rather than optimism.

Expansion Across Africa

While Mkazi Concepts is focused on validating Sensani through its current pilot projects in South Africa, Siphiwo believes the opportunity extends well beyond the country’s borders. Healthcare-associated infections remain a significant challenge across many African countries, and growing regional mobility is increasing the need for stronger infection prevention and control systems.

Expansion into other African markets is part of the company’s long-term plans. Siphiwo says Mkazi Concepts is already exploring opportunities in East Africa, but growth will depend on successfully delivering its current projects and meeting the milestones needed to support the next stage of the business. For Siphiwo, growth has never been about chasing rapid expansion. It is about building practical technology that solves real problems and proving that it works.

Advice for Entrepreneurs

Asked what has helped him navigate the uncertainties of entrepreneurship, Siphiwo’s answer comes down to one thing: “Just keep showing up.” Building a health technology company has required resilience, a supportive team and a willingness to keep moving forward despite setbacks. Equally important has been maintaining confidence in the company’s purpose.

He encourages entrepreneurs to focus on solving practical problems, understand the technologies they are building and make full use of South Africa’s growing innovation ecosystem. Accelerators, incubators and grant programmes, he says, provide valuable opportunities for founders willing to learn and adapt.

His advice is simple, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Start with a real problem, build a practical solution and keep improving it as the market responds. For Mkazi Concepts, that approach has transformed a simple observation into a growing health technology business with ambitions to improve infection prevention across Africa.

Read about other Founders here