YeneHealth (YH) has received a major boost as Jaza Rift Ventures (JRV), a leading health-tech focused venture capital firm, has become the primary investor in their pre-seed round. This investment holds immense significance for both YeneHealth and Jaza Rift Ventures, as it marks the first time an Ethiopian startup has been included in JRV’s investment portfolio. The exact investment figure remains undisclosed. 

YeneHealth’s core mission revolves around providing comprehensive and confidential sexual and reproductive healthcare services to African women of reproductive age. Through their web and mobile application, they offer a diverse range of features, including verified telehealth services, discreet e-pharmacy facilities, health information, and personalized tools like period tracking and medication monitoring. By specifically addressing unmet needs around family planning and maternal health in Sub-Saharan Africa, YeneHealth aims to empower women and support their overall health and well-being.

Reasons for the Investment

One compelling reason for the investment is YeneHealth’s focus on serving an underserved market in Africa — the reproductive health needs of women. By directly tackling this pressing issue, YeneHealth presents an attractive investment opportunity for JRV.

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Moreover, Jaza Rift Ventures’ commitment to improving healthcare in Africa perfectly aligns with YeneHealth’s vision. The investment in YeneHealth demonstrates JRV’s dedication to supporting scalable healthcare solutions across the continent, particularly in the healthtech, medtech, and biotech sectors.

Sewu Steve Tawia, Partner at Jaza Rift Ventures, emphasized their investment strategy, stating, “Our investment in outstanding Founders such as YeneHealth’s Kidist illustrates our thesis to bring healthcare to people, rather than the old model of people to healthcare. YeneHealth responds to the huge unmet healthcare need for women and the potential for alpha returns alongside long term positive healthcare outcomes and impact. Our patient capital and non-financial support in partnership with Villgro Africa will enable the team to accelerate their path to product market fit for an already rich mix of products and services focused on women.”

A Look at YeneHealth

YeneHealth proudly stands as Ethiopia’s pioneering femtech startup. The startup was founded in 2021. Led by visionary CEO Kidist Tesfaye and a team of dedicated founders, the company is committed to unlocking the digital door of healthcare services for African women of reproductive age.

The primary markets for YeneHealth’s services are situated in Africa, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Their culturally-responsive and multilingual digital platform addresses the critical need for accessible and confidential health services among women, particularly in the area of reproductive healthcare.

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As a startup, YeneHealth has ambitious goals, including expanding its platform’s reach, enhancing product development, and establishing strategic partnerships. The substantial investment from Jaza Rift Ventures will undoubtedly accelerate YeneHealth’s journey towards becoming a frontrunner in the femtech sector across the continent. With an aspiration to cater to more than 280 million women of reproductive age in Africa, YeneHealth aims to significantly improve healthcare access, quality, and patient outcomes for this demographic.

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

YeneHealth, a FemTech startup based in Ethiopia, has recently secured a pre-seed investment from The Case for Her, a Swedish-based women’s health investment fund. Although the amount of funding has not been disclosed, it will aid YeneHealth in their goal to advance sexual and reproductive health services and provide accessible, confidential, convenient, and personalized healthcare to women. With this investment, YeneHealth aims to expand its reach and enhance its product offerings.

The company, which launched its MVP seven months ago, offers a range of services, including menstrual, pregnancy, and medicine tracking, a women-centered e-pharmacy with discreet ordering and delivery/pickup, telemedicine, and culturally responsive resources and educational content. YeneHealth was founded by Kidist Tesfaye to address various needs in women’s reproductive health and provide adolescent girls with the necessary tools and information to achieve bodily agency. The YeneHealth web and mobile app is multilingual and offers users a personalized experience with various control and support features.

In a statement, Kidist Tesfaye, Founder and CEO of YeneHealth, said, “The Case for Her is one of the biggest players in women’s health globally, and the funding we raised is part of our pre-seed round. We will be raising more funding.” The Case for Her has helped fund 34 other women’s health companies and believes that YeneHealth, with its digital solution in menstrual health and sexual and reproductive health and rights, has the potential for real impact in Ethiopia.

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“The Case for Her is excited to support and proud to have YeneHealth join our portfolio,” said the investment fund in a statement. “We are thrilled to work hand-in-hand with The Case for Her to fuel our mission of revolutionizing healthcare through leveraging technology. We are one step closer to bringing accessible, confidential, convenient, and personalized healthcare to millions of African women,” added Kidist.

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