The Health Tech space is flourishing with opportunities for funding, expansion and innovation in the Africa continent.
The African health-tech firm has recently made significant power plays. This includes finance, expansion, and innovation. With the primary purpose of improving the continent’s health space.
The COVID-19 epidemic has had an uneven impact on the health technology startup landscape. As a result, the failure rate of companies has increased. However, other firms soared in the face of fresh opportunities created by the continent’s pandemic. Healthtech investment totaled $106.7 million in 2020, spread over 62 funding deals. This accounts for 12% of all declared investment rounds.
Even in 2021, investment in African health technology startups is increasing. In the first half of 2021, healthtech companies raised a total of $61.982 million through over 15 acquisitions.
Popular African health IT businesses such as Africa Health Holdings, mPharma, Dabadoc, Helium Health, and DrugStoc are consolidating their influence by attracting new funding, expanding their operations, or strengthening their shareholder base. Let’s take a look at three African healthtech businesses that are creating waves with their unique solutions and ground-breaking investment.
Africa Health Holdings
Sangu Delle’s healthcare firm Africa Health Holdings has raised $18 million in a Series A round of funding. The funds will be used to extend the company’s “technologically advanced healthcare system” throughout Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. Asia Pacific Land and Natural World Limited spearheaded the investment round. PTRB Advisors, Breyer Capital, M3, Inc., Valiant Capital, Kepple Ventures, and SUNU Capital are among the others who have invested.
Africa Health Holdings intends to broaden its portfolio beyond in-person meetings by allowing electronic follow-ups via its mobile app. According to the company, the MyCareMobile app provides customers with teleconferencing access to a number of services, including doctor consultations. In addition, test results and emergency reaction are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Africa Health Holdings will grow by providing its telemedicine technologies to new markets.” The telemedicine service is currently only available in Ghana, but it will soon be available in Kenya and Nigeria, according to the firm’s chairman and CEO, Sangu Delle.
DrugStoc
DrugStoc is a Nigerian pharmaceutical distribution company started in 2015 by Opara and Yehia. The two business partners met as students at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.
The company recently raised $4.4 million in Series A funding. The financing will aid the startup’s aggressive growth strategy. This includes supplying high-quality pharmaceutical supplies to Nigeria’s 100 million-person population.
The importance of strategic infrastructure like fulfillment centers and warehouses, where processing, packaging, and shipping are prioritized alongside technological solutions.
“It’s the fact that we’re altering not only convenience and availability, but also paying close attention to quality, which every healthcare practitioner is concerned about at the end of the day,” Opara added.
Helium Health
Helium Health, a Nigerian and San Francisco-based African health tech business, recently acquired Meddy, a doctor booking website located in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for an unknown sum. As part of the arrangement for the acquisition, the firm created by Adegoke Olubusi, Tito Ovia, and Dimeji Sofowora will also merge Meddy CEO Haris Aghadi and Coo Abed Alkarim Khattab on Helium’s executive team. According to the corporation, they will play significant roles in Helium’s Gulf Cooperation Council strategy and operations.
In terms of operations, technologies, execution, culture, and market price points, the Helium Health and Meddy teams, according to both founders, are identical. Both organizations were able to close the deal in less than four months thanks to their commonality.
“What made this feasible was the team’s competence, how well they implemented the fact that they share a DNA and culture that’s quite similar to ours,” Olubusi added.
