A Discussion with Dr. Alexis Kiers, Vice President of Operations and Engagement, VetNOW

“We don’t want veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals to adapt to our solution – we want our solutions to adapt to what they need right now and in the future.”

We recently caught up with Dr. Kiers at a strategic planning session for 2025-26. The company’s app is in field testing in Kenya and will be launched in October 2024.

Why VetNOW, and why now?

I am a veterinarian, specialized in livestock and poultry, and I have myself been doing

telehealth for farmers back in Europe. So between my expertise and passion to improve

livestock care – VetNOW was a great fit. I learned about the company through contacts

at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi et voila.

How long have you been in Kenya?

I’ve been living in Kenya for nearly two years.

How do you see VetNOW positively impacting farming communities in Kenya?

In Kenya, like in most African countries, most of the population earns their income from

farming. That said, there is still a lot of animal diseases and mismanagement today that

hinders the livelihood of these farmers. All those diseases that occur in animals in Africa

can be treated. Efficient medicines and drugs and vaccines exist and are generally

available, but the big problem is how to bring those efficient medicines to the farmer at

the right time when they need it most.

And that’s what VetNOW does: connects farmers that need advice with professionals

who have both knowledge and can supply high-quality drugs and vaccines.

For people uninitiated with the agricultural situation in Kenya, in terms of the

number of farmers versus the number of veterinarians, give us a bit of that

30,000-foot view of what that looks like and why VetNOW’s technology is really

required.

The short answer is that there are not enough qualified veterinarians in Kenya today for

the number of farmers needing assistance. If we compare Kenya to countries where

there are more veterinarians per farmer- like Western Europe or the United States- it’s

clear that Kenya lacks the number of qualified veterinarians needed to increase

efficiencies in husbandry and production. That’s also the reason the vocation of

veterinary paraprofessionals (VPPs) is very popular in countries like Kenya.

Today, using technology, VetNOW will be able to multiply the outreach of veterinarians

to farmers.

Is there a connection between the high-usage of counterfeit medications where

farmers don’t even contact an animal health care professional?

Definitely. You know the saying: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame

on me.” Farmers in Kenya are no different. They try once with a veterinarian or a

veterinary paraprofessional, and if they don’t get the right service or are disappointed

with the results, then they won’t call again. There are also a lot of “quacks” in Kenya-

what Kenyans call scammers- who fake being veterinarians or VPPs. These quacks

have no qualifications or training and take hard-earned money from farmers run away

with it, providing nothing in return. These scams also burn farmers who needed advice

to support their livelihoods, turned to someone they thought could help, and were

cheated.

Now that we’re in the testing phase on the app, talk us through how you work

with a potential user of the app. What’s it like? What does the app actually do?

There are three main users of the application.

Let’s start first with the farmer, who is the app’s main beneficiary. The farmer can

contact a veterinarian or a VPP through the app to get advice or to organize a farm visit.

The app actually provides a telehealth system using a video call or a simple mobile

phone call, so the farmer can get advice from qualified VPPs and veterinarians.

An important point is that only registered vets and VPPs in the country are able to

register in the app. Fake professionals, the “quacks” I mentioned before, are unable to

register on VetNOW and that’s critical. Farmers using this app can be certain that they

will reach a qualified animal health professional, either a veterinarian or a VPP. Then,

the vet and the VPP can use the app to advise the farmer. The vet and the VPP can

also use the app to organize his or her agenda and to monitor his or her revenue

stream.

Then there are two other users of the app: the veterinarian and the VPP.

In the application, there’s a feature that also connects a VPP and a veterinarian. If a VPP

needs advice from an experienced veterinarian, he or she is able to get that support.

VetNOW has a network of vets and VPPs advising farmers. Vets have a similar role as

VPP in the app, but the vets supervise VPPs. Vets can support up to 50 VPPs using

VetNOW and can use the platform to supervise, provide advice, and organize training.

With the VetNOW platform, vets will be able to accurately assess what’s going on in the

field and provide and prescribe the right services.

Another feature of VetNOW is data recording on disease surveillance and usage of

medicines. With enough vets and VPPs using the app on a regular basis, we will be

able to have a real-time snapshot of the animal diseases occurring in the country at any

given moment.

How will VetNOW work with governmental agencies?

In Kenya, the main veterinary government agency is called DVS: the Directorate of

Veterinary Services. Thanks to the VetNOW platform, the DVS have access to better

information on what is happening in the field: for example, what diseases are actually

circulating in the country at that time, or what medicines are being used for treatments.

The data collected is extremely important because access to reliable field data will allow

very practical changes.

With reliable data, Kenya’s DVS will be able to organize a

tailored vaccination campaigns against a specific disease in a specific county to prevent

the spread of the disease. It could also could set up or increase the capacity of local

laboratories to provide better diagnostic capabilities specific to that county’s needs, or

could request the registration of needed medicines or vaccines that aren’t yet distributed

today in Kenya.

Of course, field veterinarians and VPPs will also have access to the data from their own

customers and they will be able to, at the local level, organize vaccination campaigns,

communicate specific recommendations about disease management to their farmers, or

ask the government to register specific drugs needed to prevent the spread of disease.

Now you had mentioned the DVS. What other organizations or government entities are you working with in Kenya?

In addition to Kenya’s Directorate of Veterinary Services, with whom we work at the

national and county level, we also work with the Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB), which is

the body that regulates the registration of veterinarians and VPPs in Kenya.

We also work with the African Veterinary Technician Association, or AVTA. The AVTA is

an association that represents approximately 18,000 VPPs in Kenya who are qualified

animal health professionals.

Speaking of qualified professionals, what’s your own professional background? (You’ve got a string of letters after your name.)

In short, I’m a field veterinarian and specialize in livestock and poultry. As for the letters,

I am a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine, or DVM, and graduated from France. I also have a

master’s degree in Ruminant Health. After working as a livestock veterinarian for

several years, I worked in Vietnam to support a U.S. Agency for International

Development (USAID) project on promoting small-scale poultry farming to prevent

highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.

After Vietnam, I wanted to specialize in poultry medicine and earned a second master’s

degree in Avian Medicine from the University of Georgia. I’m also a member of the

American College of Poultry Veterinarians. I’ve spent most of my career in the private

sector, working for livestock and poultry veterinary clinics, global pharmaceutical

companies, and now as an entrepreneur.

Tell us what you see in the near future for VetNOW?

It’s simple: first, support improved animal health through the app so farmers see,

understand, and benefit from VetNOW in a way that increases their incomes and

livelihoods; and second, provide increased revenues for veterinarians and VPPs so they

see the value of VetNOW to their own businesses and communities.