Intercare’s incumbent CEO is set to steer the group’s direction, expanding into underserved South African communities and exploring international markets for accessible, patient-centred health care.
The prominent South African private health-care provider has announced its first leadership transition in 25 years, appointing MD Hendri Hanekom as new Intercare CEO, effective April 1.
“I am honoured by the trust placed in me and excited to lead Intercare into its next phase,” said Hanekom, who has been with the company for nearly 18 years.
He progressed from entry-level roles as a receptionist and cashier to practice manager, then into business development before moving into management, a journey he said allowed him to evolve alongside the business.
Intercare operates 29 medical and dental centres, four day hospitals, five rehabilitation hospitals, and a specialised fertility hospital in South Africa, delivering care to about 1.5-million people each year.
Looking ahead, Hanekom said his focus will be on scaling and evolving the business while ensuring consistent execution. He emphasised that his role won’t only be about growth but also about redefining how health care was experienced. “Our focus is to continue building a health-care model that is centred around our customers, improving access, experience and outcomes,” he said.
“By combining this with disciplined execution, strong teams and practical innovation in care delivery, we are well positioned to grow sustainably and expand our impact, both locally and over time, beyond our borders.”
Hanekom noted that the real challenge was not simply to scale but to scale consistently while maintaining quality. “Anybody can scale, but to do that consistently with good quality and good outcomes is where businesses have shown success or failed.”
Intercare aims to make this change by evolving its model. “In the last 25 years, Intercare has built a strong foundation and a reputable brand, specifically in urban South Africa, within the insured medical scheme environment. The next phase of Intercare will be about broadening access and deepening our impact in the communities we serve.”
While continuing to grow its existing urban operations, the company plans to adjust its focus by intentionally increasing its footprint in urban townships and semi-urban areas.
According to Stats SA’s 2024 General Household Survey, only 15.5% of South Africans are members of medical aid schemes nationally, with membership higher in metropolitan areas at 22.1%. The data highlights the gap in access to private health care, particularly outside major urban centres, where coverage is lower.
These communities, Hanekom said, “have limited access to consistent and quality primary health care, and that is what we’re trying to solve”.
He said delivering affordable health care also required adapting its operating model, with any growth needing capital investment amid South Africa’s tight health-care margins. “Access and affordability are not necessarily opposing goals. If you design the model correctly, they actually reinforce each other,” said Hanekom.
While emphasising that Intercare’s primary focus remained South Africa, he said the company could take what it had learnt locally from its integrated model and work with partners internationally.
He added that partnering with the right people outside South Africa allowed the company to gain new experience, which can then be brought back to benefit the local market. “Our growth and the evolution of our model is for the South African market and for our customers, health professionals, and patients.”
Fragmentation, duplication and administrative burdens are among the biggest challenges in South Africa’s health-care system, Hanekom said, adding that too many patients struggle to navigate a complex system. “It’s our responsibility as a health-care organisation to change that within Intercare and within that system itself.”
Intercare aims to bridge these gaps by designing solutions around the patient journey and addressing friction points first, a problem-driven approach that prioritises understanding the issue before investing in new technologies.
Technology and digitisation, Hanekom said, were used to enable solutions that serve the community or clinical needs, rather than for their own sake. “Healthcare needs a digi-physical approach,” he added, noting that access must be developed through both digital and physical channels.
As part of this approach, Intercare maps the entire patient journey with input from healthcare professionals and care teams to
- identify friction points;
- streamline processes;
- reduce administrative burdens; and
- improve accessibility.
Hanekom said this allowed the company to deliver more effective, cost-efficient care. “We’re proud of the business and the foundation we’ve built with the team, and we’re excited about what lies ahead,” he said.
He added that while Intercare already served a large portion of South Africa’s health-care users, expanding access to high-quality care could strengthen the company and make a meaningful impact on health care nationwide.
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