Nigerian health-tech startup CribMD snags seed funding
Nigeria and US-based health-tech platform CribMD that offers users doctor-on-demand service has seen an oversubscribed seed funding round.
The venture that set out to raise $2 million closed its funding round with $2.6 million in the kitty it has disclosed. While Sputnik ATX, a Texas based startup accelerator was the first investor it added Sweden’s Norrsken and Nigerian media publication The Guardian to square off the funding round.
CribMD offers subscription-based healthcare services to both individuals as well as corporate customers for their employees. For an individual it offers a basic service at around $7 that includes a single doctor visit for few medical practice areas as also a more comprehensive family package that offers unlimited consultation for up to 10 people at $46 across most practices.
The venture offers option of both home healthcare visit by doctor as also video consultation.
The venture was co-founded by Ifeanyi Ossai (CEO), Michael Uchechukwu Ngiri (CTO) and Lorna Johnson (CFO).
Ossai had previously launched WeCare in 2017 with four physical clinics. But he realised to make the unit economics work a physical establishment was perhaps not the right model.
So, he created CribMD as a healthtech venture by leveraging the network of caregivers already established at WeCare and onboarding them on CribMD.
It started off with $250,000 pre-seed funding with founders for product development, hiring, sales and marketing. Within the first four months, it recorded over 700 subscribers with a monthly run rate of $15,000, over 20,000 patients on the waitlist and 10+ corporate customers. Then it set out for its seed funding.
It claims to have over 5,000 doctors on the platform, 2000+ subscribers, over 30 corporate customers and a monthly run rate of $55,000.
Health-tech and online doctor consultation is fast gaining currency in Africa. A bunch of startups in the space have attracted venture funding this year.
Few weeks back Nairobi-based startup TIBU, which offers home healthcare services such as on-demand medical consultation and collection of samples for diagnostics test, raised fresh funding from an existing and a new investor. Kepple Africa Ventures, a Japanese venture capital firm that backs African startups, reinvested in the startup while Blue Haven Initiative joined the funding round as the new investor. The amount wasn’t disclosed.
Another health-tech startup in Africa that attracted investor interest recently is Quro, which secured $1.1 million in seed funding. The round was led by Nairobi-based early-stage VC firm Enza Capital and mid- to late-stage South African investment firm Mohau Equity Partners.
South African startup Quro Medical says it goes beyond telemedicine and traditional home care by incorporating clinical data and offering remote healthcare monitoring.
Tokyo-based M3, Inc said it would invest in Africa Health Holdings Ltd, which operates medical facilities across Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. Africa Health, led by Sangu Delle, operates 38 medical facilities across Ghana (Rabito Clinic group), Nigeria (CarePoint Hospitals group) and Kenya (Meridian Health Group). It also provides online medical services through its telemedicine application MyCareMobile.
