From Uber to call centre: why Flare decided on the human touch for emergency dispatch in Kenya

The East Africa Business Podcast: African Start ups | Investing | Entrepreneurship | Interviews

In this catch-up episode, I chat with Caitlin who runs Flare.
Caitlin and I first spoke in late 2016, and you can listen to the original interview by scrolling down to the episode named Ambulances.
The premise then was that Flare would become a technology platform to connect people with ambulances much in the way that Uber has developed the model of hailing a driver through their app.
Whilst the vision of providing world-class emergency dispatch services remains unchanged, the company has developed more of a human touch.
As Caitlin and I discuss, a core offering they now have is a 24/7 dispatch hotline where trained medical professionals consult with callers before dispatching them to the appropriate provider.
We also talk about other things that have come from running the business over the past three years.
How they've been cautious to not scale too quickly, how large corporates are signing up to the Rescue.co service, and their considerations for international expansion.
The interview takes place in the garden of the Flare house (you may notice a number of companies such as Lynk and SunCulture operate from residential homes) and so there may be some background noise, not least from Koko - the office dog who comes over halfway through.
READ MORE AT:
https://theeastafricabusinesspodcast.com/2019/11/07/from-uber-to-call-centre-why-flare-decided-on-the-human-touch-for-emergency-dispatch-in-kenya