Who you would be selling to

Clinician-owned, and building something bigger

Mia Healthcare was founded by a husband and wife, a medical doctor and a dentist: Dr Zane Stenning and Dr Karishma Stenning. They still own 70% of it.

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Who owns Mia today

We are not an investment fund with a dental thesis. We are an operating company, with mobile clinics, aligners and labs that earn their own revenue, building a South African dental group for the long term with family and friends.

Our capital is mostly debt rather than fund equity, so nobody has to sell the group in year five to return money to investors. We are building towards a listed South African company, owned in a meaningful way by the clinicians inside it. That is an intention, not a guarantee.

70%The clinical co-founders
13%SA institutional investors
10%Other clinicians
7%A friend and angel investor

What we are building

1 000 000 smiles by 2031

We want to bring the best possible dentistry to as many South Africans as possible. So we gave it a number, made it public, and count it patient by patient. We cannot get there alone: practices like yours are expected to deliver most of it.

~70%Fixed practices like yours
~15%Mobile clinics
~13%Aligners and labs
~2%Dentistry we give back, free

The idea behind the group

The bomb squad of dentistry

The Springboks did not win back-to-back World Cups on a starting fifteen. They won on a squad so deep that the last quarter belonged to them before it was played.

We are building that in dentistry: the deepest squad of clinicians in the country, with masters setting the standard, builders scaling it, teachers coaching the next generation, and enough depth that nothing dies with one person.

MastersBuildersTeachersDepth

A legacy that carries on

A home for existing practitioners and a system for the next generation, so what you built outlives your time in the chair.

Clinical excellence

A standard set by clinicians and shared across practices, with the technology, materials and training to keep raising it.

A place to keep growing

For new and experienced practitioners: to learn, to be mentored and to mentor.

The same for operations

Practice managers, front desk and assistants growing into experts, with careers across the group.

Every role on the squad is honourable, including a well-earned exit. Building the group is our goal; it does not have to be yours.

Compare

How our model compares

Clinical autonomy

Mia Healthcare Decided in the surgery, by the treating clinician. No clinical targets from head office.

Staying independent Fully yours.

Selling to a practitioner Passes to the buyer once you step away.

Corporate-led DSO Often shaped by central protocols, production goals or quotas.

Your role after the sale

Mia Healthcare You remain a leader in your practice for as long as you want.

Staying independent Owner, manager and clinician, all at once.

Selling to a practitioner Usually expected to step out of the chair soon after.

Corporate-led DSO Often an employed clinician on a fixed-term arrangement.

Admin, HR and compliance

Mia Healthcare Carried by head office, by people who do only that.

Staying independent Carried by you, often after hours.

Selling to a practitioner Passes to the buyer.

Corporate-led DSO Centralised; the level of support varies.

Paid for what you built

Mia Healthcare Through the sale, with the goodwill kept in place so it can be valued properly.

Staying independent Only when you eventually sell.

Selling to a practitioner Often discounted, and limited by what the buyer can borrow.

Corporate-led DSO Yes, often with part of the price deferred or tied to targets.

Your clinical pay

Mia Healthcare A market-related rate, agreed before you sign.

Staying independent Whatever is left once the practice is paid for.

Selling to a practitioner Ends when you hand over.

Corporate-led DSO Usually a set rate or percentage.

Your team's growth

Mia Healthcare Training and career pathways across the group, clinical and operational.

Staying independent Limited to what one practice can offer.

Selling to a practitioner Depends on the new owner.

Corporate-led DSO Varies; often tied to group-wide programmes.

Capital to grow

Mia Healthcare Institutional capital lines, without the practice carrying the borrowing.

Staying independent Your own borrowing.

Selling to a practitioner The buyer's own borrowing.

Corporate-led DSO Available, usually directed by the group's priorities.

Materials and labs

Mia Healthcare Not mandated. Group buying often cuts materials and lab costs by 15–30%.

Staying independent Full price, negotiated on your own.

Selling to a practitioner The buyer's choice.

Corporate-led DSO Often standardised, with suppliers chosen centrally.

Who owns it in five years

Mia Healthcare Clinicians, building towards a listed South African company.

Staying independent You.

Selling to a practitioner The buyer.

Corporate-led DSO Often a fund working towards its next sale.

After you exit

Mia Healthcare Roles in teaching, mentoring, clinical advice and the business of dentistry.

Staying independent Whatever you arrange yourself.

Selling to a practitioner Ends at handover.

Corporate-led DSO Varies by group.

General patterns, not a description of any one buyer. Every deal, including ours, depends on its terms.

Our financial backers

South African banks and institutional investors, most with us since our first aligner lab in Cape Town. Vumela / Edge Growth is FNB's enterprise development arm.

Where we deliver preventative care