Vula Medical wins big at FNB App of the Year Awards

Vula Medical, winner of the “Best Health Solution” at the 2025 FNB App of the Year Awards, was crowned the overall winner at last night’s awards showcase.

Vula Medical is a medical referral app developed by Dr William Mapham. It connects primary healthcare workers with specialists, to make it easier to manage patient referrals and get specialist advice.

The app is designed to improve healthcare in rural and underserved areas by allowing health workers to share patient information, including text and images, through custom referral forms. It facilitates communication and remote guidance and reduces “unnecessary” travel for patients to ensure that they receive the right care at the right time.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, held in Johannesburg last night, Mapham revealed that the idea for the app was conceived while working at the Vula Amehlo Eye Clinic in Swaziland, where he experienced the difficulties faced by rural health workers when they needed specialist advice.

“This is a very special award because we’ve gone from one speciality to 76 different specialties. We’ve got a wonderful team who make everything happen. 2.5 million patients have benefited, which is one in every 30 South Africans,” said an excited Mapham.

“The people really doing the hard work are the people in the clinics, the GPs working in the rural areas, specialists in tertiary hospitals, those are the real heroes of the day.”

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To date, Vula Medical has facilitated 2.5 million patient referrals, connecting healthcare professionals across over 2 300 public and private facilities. It also supports 105 different categories of health workers.

The annual app of the year awards recognise local app development talent, bringing together the brightest minds in South African and African tech.

According to the big-four bank, the awards sit within a broader ecosystem of FNB-led initiatives aimed at growing the talent pipeline, supporting digital transformation, and empowering young developers across the continent.

This year, over 33 000 young people graduated as full-stack developers through the FNB App Academy – a fully funded, intensive nine-week coding programme that equips aspiring tech entrepreneurs with real, employable skills to develop full-scale applications and platforms.

At the end of October, FNB also hosted its hackathon that saw over 10 000 participants aim to solve some of Africa’s most pressing social challenges within 72 hours.

To date, the app of the year platform has recognised some of SA’s biggest digital success stories, including Eskom Se Push, Naked Insurance, Pineapple Insurance, Checkers Sixty60 and last year’s FNB App of the Year winner, Matric Live.

“The FNB App of the Year Awards continue to nurture and unearth African innovation and technology, uncovering some of our best-known apps and bringing together different sectors of society to solve a variety of social, economic, and business needs,” says Janis Robson, business development head at FNB.

“Winners rapidly gain recognition and the opportunity to attract funding. By supporting developers and start-ups, we are driving innovation, creating jobs, and contributing to the country’s economic growth.”

The ceremony also recognised outstanding achievements in various other categories. The winners included:

Best Consumer Solution: Mr D