Vèna Arielle Ahouansou is a Beninese medical doctor and the CEO of Kea Medicals. In January 2017, she created the Kea Medicals Pharmaceuticals & Technologies software to digitise patient information.
An innovative woman, she says she was inspired by a loss of data that cost a patient her life while she was interning at the hospital. Her software, also available as a mobile app, has been welcomed by consumers in Benin and several other African countries.
Dr Arielle Ahouansou has won several awards, including the ‘Projet Afrique Future In Afrique’ prize in 2018 and the ‘Grand Prix 2019 de l'innovation’ organised in Paris.
She attended medical school in Parakou. During her studies, she taught herself about female leadership, management and community transformation, leading her to create the NGO Refled to help girls and women. At the end of her training, she prepared her thesis on the Beninese healthcare system.