Ilara Health, a Kenya-based healthtech startup known for equipping primary care clinics with affordable diagnostic solutions, has initiated a company-wide restructuring process that includes staff layoffs. The exact number of affected employees has not been disclosed.
In an official statement, the company attributed the decision to “current market conditions and financing dynamics,” specifically citing a reversal of previously committed funding and delays in disbursements. As per Kenya’s Employment Act of 2007, impacted employees have entered a mandatory 30-day consultation period.
This development comes just nine months after Ilara Health secured a $1 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), aimed at strengthening its diagnostic platform and expanding access to essential healthcare services. Despite this recent funding, the company now plans to streamline its operations, focusing on cash-generative business lines and adopting a leaner organizational structure.
Emilian Popa, CEO and co-founder of Ilara Health, commented:
This is a difficult moment for our team, especially after recent progress. Our colleagues remain at the heart of Ilara, and we are committed to supporting them through this period.
Founded in 2019 by Emilian Popa, Maximilian Mancini, and Sameer Afzal Farooqi, Ilara Health has built a network of over 3,000 partner clinics across 46 counties in Kenya. Earlier this year, in February 2024, the company closed a $4.2 million pre-Series A funding round to support its nationwide expansion.
Ilara’s restructuring reflects broader challenges facing healthtech startups in Africa. In Nigeria, MedSaf, a digital platform that helped hospitals and pharmacies manage medical supplies, shut down earlier this year after failing to secure consistent funding. Similarly, Flutterwave, one of Africa’s largest fintechs, laid off 50% of its staff in Kenya and South Africa in a bid to cut costs and accelerate its path to profitability.
Despite the internal changes, Ilara Health has assured stakeholders that its service delivery will remain uninterrupted. The company reaffirmed its commitment to providing reliable and accessible healthcare solutions across Kenya, even as it adapts to a more sustainable operational model.
