NETCARE: A Decade of Transformation
Netcare remains the heartbeat of South Africa’s healthcare sector, investing in and growing capabilities to ensure the increasing and quickly changing demands from the population are met with quality supply. New leadership is set to complete an ongoing 10-year strategy in 2028 before charting the way forward for the foreseeable future.
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For more than a quarter of a century, Netcare has occupied a leading position in South Africa’s private healthcare sector. As one of the country’s largest healthcare groups and a prominent constituent of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the company has built a reputation for clinical excellence, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to patient care.
Its story mirrors the evolution of South Africa’s healthcare landscape itself. Through periods of economic uncertainty, regulatory change, infrastructure challenges, and the unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Netcare has continued to serve communities across the country. Today, the group operates an extensive ecosystem of hospitals, emergency medical services, primary care facilities, cancer care centres, mental health institutions and renal care operations, making it one of the most comprehensive healthcare providers in Africa.
The past decade has been particularly significant. What began as a strategic effort to modernise operations and prepare for the future has evolved into a comprehensive transformation programme centred on digitalisation, data, artificial intelligence and patient-centred care. The result is a business that has emerged stronger, more agile and increasingly positioned for long-term growth.
Recent financial performance highlights the success of that strategy. Netcare reported strong growth in the first half of its 2026 financial year, with revenue increasing to R13.2 billion and operating profit rising ahead of revenue growth, reflecting improvements in efficiency and operational performance. The company attributes much of this success to resilient demand for private healthcare services, together with the benefits generated through years of investment in technology and innovation.
Importantly, this progress comes at a time when South Africa’s broader economic environment is showing signs of improvement after years of volatility. Moderating inflation, improving consumer confidence and a more stable interest rate outlook are creating a more supportive backdrop for businesses and households alike.
As outgoing CEO Dr Richard Friedland explains: “We are encouraged by the improving macroeconomic indicators in South Africa, which have supported a more constructive long-term outlook for the operating environment. Recent developments, including moderating inflation, an improvement in the unemployment rate, a more stable interest rate outlook and improving consumer and business confidence, are positive for the broader healthcare sector. While challenges remain, these trends provide a supportive backdrop for continued operational momentum and reinforce our confidence in the resilience of the Group’s strategy, financial performance and long-term growth prospects.”
NEW LEADERSHIP
Alongside improving market conditions, Netcare is entering a new era of leadership.
In January 2025, Alex Maditse was appointed Chairperson of the Group, bringing extensive board and governance experience to the role after previously serving as Lead Independent Director. The appointment marked an important milestone in the company’s succession planning and governance evolution.
More recently, Netcare announced the appointment of Melanie Da Costa as its next Chief Executive Officer. Da Costa assumed the role of CEO Designate on 1 June 2026 and will formally take over from Dr Friedland on 1 January 2027 following a structured transition period. After nearly three decades leading the organisation, Dr Friedland’s retirement represents the end of an era, while Da Costa’s appointment signals continuity combined with fresh momentum.
Having spent more than twenty years within the organisation, Da Costa is deeply familiar with both the operational realities and strategic ambitions of the business.
“I know Netcare’s heartbeat because I have felt it for twenty years. I know our people, our patients, our clinicians, our funders, our regulators and the extraordinary complexity of what we do every single day. That familiarity is not a comfort, it is a responsibility to do this right,” she says.
“I have deep respect for Netcare’s legacy, genuine curiosity about where we go next and an unwavering commitment to serve.”
Her appointment has been strongly endorsed by the board.
According to Chairperson Alex Maditse: “Ms Da Costa is a respected industry leader with the capacity to deliver operational excellence, disciplined capital allocation and continued execution of Netcare’s strategy in service of our patients, partners, employees, medical schemes and suppliers. She brings strategic acumen, commercial discipline, a growth mindset and a deep appreciation of the role that health technology and innovation play in driving differentiation and sustainable growth, and she combines exceptional financial and commercial acumen with the integrity, humility and strength of character to lead Netcare with distinction. Over more than 20 years at Netcare, she has made an extraordinary contribution to the Group, earning deep respect across the organisation and among its stakeholders. She is, without question, the right person to lead Netcare into the future.”
DIGITAL FUTURE
Leadership continuity is particularly important because Netcare’s long-term strategy is now entering a critical phase.
In 2018, the group launched an ambitious ten-year transformation strategy designed to strengthen its competitive position and align the business with major global healthcare trends. Since then, substantial investment has been directed towards digitisation, customer-centric care models and advanced data capabilities.
As Dr Friedland explains: “The Group continues to execute on its ten-year strategy, launched in 2018, designed to create a sustainable competitive advantage and position Netcare as the provider of choice for patients, doctors and funders. Now in the latter stages of this journey, the strategy, aligned to global healthcare megatrends of customer centricity, digitisation, and data and AI-driven care, leverages our integrated ecosystem to deliver a more connected, efficient and responsive model of healthcare.
“Innovation remains central to the strategy and continues to differentiate the Group,” he adds. “Following the successful completion of the ‘digitally enabled’ phase in 2024, which saw the full implementation of electronic medical records across the ecosystem, the Group has established a strong digital foundation from which to scale the next phase of innovation.
“We are now well advanced in the ‘data and AI driven’ phase, harnessing more than 53GB of clinical data generated daily to enhance clinical decision-making, patient safety and operational efficiency. Our advanced analytics capabilities provide real-time, actionable insights that support improved consistency of care, better outcomes and greater cost efficiency, translating into measurable clinical and financial benefits.”
The significance of this investment extends far beyond efficiency. Across South Africa, healthcare providers are increasingly recognising the role that digital platforms, data analytics, remote monitoring technologies and artificial intelligence can play in improving patient outcomes. Netcare’s early investment in these capabilities has positioned the company at the forefront of healthcare innovation in the region. Recent pilot programmes involving wearable patient monitoring technology further demonstrate how digital transformation is beginning to reshape healthcare delivery across the group.
EXPANDING ACCESS
While technology is transforming healthcare delivery, Netcare continues to invest in physical infrastructure where demand is growing.
One of the most notable recent developments is the opening of Netcare Akeso Polokwane, an 87-bed mental healthcare facility in Limpopo. Opened in March 2026, the facility significantly expands specialist mental healthcare capacity in a province where access has historically been limited.
Developed through a partnership between Netcare Akeso and local medical professionals, the hospital provides inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services, including dedicated facilities for adolescents and adults. It also incorporates a range of sustainability features, including solar photovoltaic generation, advanced energy-efficient climate control systems and innovative water treatment technologies.
The investment reflects a growing recognition of mental health as a critical healthcare priority. Demand for psychiatric services continues to rise across South Africa, creating opportunities for providers capable of delivering specialised, evidence-based care. Netcare has identified this trend as an important growth area and continues to expand its Akeso division nationally. The group has already indicated plans for additional mental healthcare facilities in Ballito and Tshwane, reinforcing its commitment to expanding access to care.
“Previously, healthcare practitioners in the region referred their patients to Netcare Akeso Arcadia and Netcare Akeso Nelspruit, yet now mental healthcare is available closer to their homes and families. We anticipate referrals from the region and further afield, including neighbouring countries, given the prevailing shortage of mental healthcare facilities equipped to this standard,” said, Manager, Mmoni Aphane.
LONG-TERM PLANNING
As Netcare approaches the final stages of its decade-long transformation journey, the company appears well positioned for continued success.
South Africa’s healthcare sector is benefiting from powerful structural drivers, including population growth, rising healthcare awareness, increasing chronic disease prevalence and growing demand for specialist services. At the same time, advances in digital health technologies are creating new opportunities to improve efficiency, patient outcomes and accessibility.
For Netcare, the convergence of these trends presents significant opportunities. The combination of strong leadership succession, a modern digital foundation, targeted infrastructure investment and favourable industry dynamics provides a platform for sustained growth.
As Dr Friedland says: “Underlying demand for quality private healthcare remains resilient, supported by structural drivers such as an ageing insured population and the rising burden of disease. Netcare’s ecosystem and extensive national footprint, supported by our digital, data and AI strategy, ensures that the Group remains well positioned to deliver quality patient care and continued improvements in operational and financial performance in FY 2026 and beyond.”
For a company that has spent decades serving South Africans through periods of profound change, that confidence appears well founded. Netcare’s next chapter is already taking shape, built on innovation, resilience and a continued commitment to putting patients first.