Zuri Health, a Nairobi-based digital healthcare startup that provides inexpensive healthcare via mobile, has concluded a funding round led by DOB Equity, Launch Africa, and Founders Factory Africa in order to grow across Africa. Other investors in the round included V8 Capital, Platform Capital, Villgro Africa, Asime Ventures, and the Salik Family Trust.
“We are driven by the impact our service could have — to be a solution to Africa’s lack of sufficient healthcare. Healthcare infrastructure in most parts of Africa is grossly inadequate, with painfully high doctor-patient ratios. There are many Africans who cannot afford healthcare services or who live too far away from healthcare facilities. And with skilled healthcare workers increasingly leaving Africa for greener pastures, the situation is worsening. We have a burning desire to democratise healthcare access and harness the power of technology to provide quality, first-tier medical services,” Ikechukwu Anoke, CEO and Founder of Zuri Health, said.
Zuri Health intends to use the recent investment to expand its digital platform, expand its product offerings, and establish operations in other areas.
Dr. Akintoye Akindele, Chairman of Platform Capital, will also join the advisory board as part of Platform Capital’s investment in this round.
Why The Investors Invested
Since its inception, the firm has gained significant traction. Zuri Health has so far collaborated with 16+ major mobile network carriers in seven countries, serving over 400,000 SMS customers, 300 doctors, 27 lab and diagnostic centers, and 15 pharmacies.
Saskia van der Mast, Co-CEO of Nairobi-based Dutch private equity firm DOB Equity, said: “We are excited to support the growth of Zuri Health as it builds an innovative and scalable platform that will enable access to healthcare for millions of rural and urban communities”.
Read also : Egyptian Health-tech O7 Therapy Raises $2.1m Seed Round
Zachariah George, Managing Partner at Launch Africa, comments: “Zuri Health shows tremendous potential to scale across the continent and democratise access to healthcare. We truly believe in Anoke and Isiaho’s abilities to lead the path in the HealthTech sector in Africa.”.
Bongani Sithole, Managing Director at Founders Factory Africa, said: “Founders Factory Africa is honoured to be a part of backing the Zuri Health Team’s ambitious mission of addressing critical gaps in Africa’s healthcare systems.”
Dr. Akintoye Akindele, Chairman of Platform Capital said “We believe that Anoke, Isiaho and the Zuri Health team have created a platform that addresses the large healthcare infrastructure gap that exists on the continent and has the potential to ensure access to affordable medical care for every African. We look forward to working closely with the team to transform access to healthcare.”
Efforts to scale up quality healthcare services at an affordable cost continue to be a struggle across Africa. According to the World Economic Forum, the continent carries 25% of the world’s sickness burden yet only possesses 2% of the world’s doctors.
Read also : Viva Technology and IFC Reveal Top 45 Most Innovative Startups In Africa
Kenya has an estimated 10,500 licensed doctors, according to the Kenya Medical Practitioners & Dentists Council. To meet the country’s healthcare need, each doctor in Kenya would need to serve approximately 5,300 people per year. In addition, understaffing at lower-level facilities in more rural portions of the country causes patients to flood into national-level hospitals in urban areas. This circumstance leads to lengthier patient wait times and crushing pressure to address even the most basic healthcare demands, let alone urgent or complex cases.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Zuri Health uses SMS, WhatsApp, and a specialized app to connect mass-market people with economical, convenient, and high-quality healthcare services. The organization began operations in Kenya in January 2021 and has since expanded to Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Ikechukwu Arthur Anoke and Daisy Isiaho founded Zuri Health after they both experienced personal health problems that were resolved through telemedicine. They recognized this as a chance to create a low-cost, personalized, and quick customer journey for mobile customers looking for healthcare services.
Anoke formerly worked for the technology firm Mtech, where he managed efforts to bring value-added services to mobile users, while Isiaho previously worked for MarketForce. This experience has assisted Anoke and Isiaho in understanding how to improve and democratize access to healthcare in a post-Covid world, allowing them to establish Zuri Health’s business model and chart its growth trajectory.
Read also :Nigeria’s Bridgecard Raises $440K To Aggregate Payment Cards Into One
Zuri Health has worked with telecommunications companies such as MTN, Safaricom, and Telkom (Kenya) to aggregate healthcare providers such as medical labs, pharmacies, and hospitals. This has allowed Zuri Health to bring healthcare services closer to people’ homes — doctors are just a few clicks or texts away.
Zuri Health funding Zuri Health funding
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh