Paarl city based digital healthcare company, Udok, has secured $612k from local venture capital firm, FinX Capital, to expand their offering across South Africa. The connected care platform aims to strengthen its patient centric approach and build on its delivery of online doctor’s consultations.
“The company is proud to be appointed by The Clicks Group, the largest pharmacy retailer in South Africa, to deliver online consultations to their pharmacy clinics. This is a fundamental move towards making healthcare more convenient to South Africans and the rest of Africa,” Founder and CEO of Udok, Dr Petrus van Niekerk said.
“Our mission is to make healthcare accessible to everyone on this continent through the use of a smart device which can be the patient’s own or with the help of a nurse.”
The funds will be used to expand its network and technology and also aims to provide access to a Udok virtual practice at close to 200 Clicks Pharmacies countrywide.
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A Look At What Udok Does
Udok has been providing remote consultations directly to patients and via pharmacy clinics for the past year and has increased its usage since COVID-19.
The company has developed a digital ecosystem consisting of hardware and software to capture medical information from patients. This enables providers to make diagnosis remotely in real time.
Udok is currently testing laboratory analysers inside their retail partners stores. They believe that they can offer the majority lab testing at a much lower price than conventional labs do. The company’s aim is to become the largest connected care platform to breach the gap between patient, provider and payor.
The startup will also build on its smart patient queuing system powered by AI, a feature built to manage patient workload and a large online walk-in clinic.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer