South African Tech startup Knockturnal launches Hlokomela, an AI-powered healthcare platform
Johannesburg-based technology company Knockturnal (Pty) Ltd has officially launched Hlokomela, a secure, AI-powered digital health platform designed to streamline medical appointments and care coordination across South Africa.
Named after the Sepedi word meaning “to care for,” the platform unifies patients, healthcare providers, and administrators into a single, integrated system built to withstand local operational challenges. The public debut introduces the platform’s initial release, which automates the complete appointment lifecycle from initial booking and confirmations to rescheduling and post-consultation follow-ups.
By bridging the communication gaps between all stakeholders, Hlokomela aims to reduce administrative friction and improve the efficiency of everyday medical care in both private and public sectors.
Hlokomela targets the specific needs of the South African healthcare ecosystem by dividing functionality into three distinct, user-friendly portals:
Patient Portal: Allows individuals to seamlessly search for nearby medical providers, secure and manage appointments, and receive automated confirmations or rescheduling options.
Provider Portal: Gives healthcare professionals complete control over their schedules, allowing them to accept or decline booking requests, log completed consultations, and collect patient feedback using integrated survey tools.
Administrator Tools: Provides comprehensive oversight of medical facility operations, enabling managers to track provider availability, analyze appointment activity, and coordinate staff workflows efficiently.
Recognising the sensitive nature of digital medical records, Knockturnal developed Hlokomela on modern, cloud-hosted infrastructure featuring strict user authentication protocols. The platform has been engineered from the ground up to comply fully with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), ensuring that patient data remains secure and private.
Moses Tjege, the founder of Knockturnal and an AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional with more than six years of cloud systems experience, emphasised the necessity of unified data in modern medicine. “Healthcare in South Africa works best when patients, providers, and administrators are working from the same information,” Tjege stated. “We built Hlokomela to close those gaps — to make booking and managing care simpler, and to give providers tools that fit how they actually work.”
As a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor, Knockturnal is positioning itself to be a key player in the digitisation of local healthcare.Following the initial release, the company will transition into a structured provider pilot during the fourth quarter of 2026.
The pilot program aims to onboard an initial cohort of up to 500 healthcare providers. Data and feedback gathered from this real-world testing phase will be used to refine features, optimise system performance, and prepare the software for a broader, nationwide commercial rollout.