Zuri Health – telemedicine Start-up has raised an additional seed capital of $1. 3M for expansion in Africa.
The Nairobi-based digital healthcare starts up is a virtual hospital that initially launched in Kenya in January 2021, but is now present in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.
It provides quality affordable and accessible healthcare services to patients via mobile app, website, and SMS service.
Through the app, patients can chat and consult with doctors, buy medication from a pharmacy, book labs and diagnostic tests and have a doctor visit them at home.
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During a funding round led by DOB Equity, Launch Africa, and Founders Factory Africa, Zuri Health secured a $1.3 million (Ksh. 151,385,000) pre-seed round to expand in Africa.
The digital healthcare company also attracted investments from V8 Capital, Platform Capital, Villgro Africa, Asime Ventures, and the Salik Family Trust.
During the fundraising, the Co-CEO of DOB Equity-based in Nairobi, Saskia van der Mast, expressed his excitement to support the digital healthcare company;
“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,” he said.
The Managing Partner at Launch Africa also made remarkable comments to the Zuri health founders;
“Zuri Health shows tremendous potential to scale across the continent and democratize access to healthcare. We truly believe in Anoke and Isiaho’s abilities to lead the path in the HealthTech sector in Africa,” said Zachariah George.
The CEO and Co-Founder of Zuri Health Ikechukwu Anoke made a note on the impact of the lack of sufficient healthcare services in Africa, which he says is what drives them.
“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 democratize healthcare access and harness the power of technology to provide quality, first-tier medical services,” he said.
Apart from announcing the new member of their advisory board as Dr. Akintoye Akindele, Chairman of Platform Capital, Zuri Health also made a note on their plan to use the recent investment, which is to further build out its digital platform, grow its product offerings and launch operations in new markets.
The company says it has so far partnered with mobile network operators in seven countries with over 400,000 SMS subscribers, over 300 doctors, 27 lab and diagnostic centers, and 15 pharmacies across its markets.
The Healthcare company also takes into cognizance Africa’s unique challenges and offers first-level medical consultation via SMS service to take care of the over 65% of the population without access to smartphones or the internet. With Zuri Health the underserved populace can now access affordable and sustainable healthcare.
