The African startup Helium Health announced the attraction of investment funds in the amount of $30 million following the results of the Series B financing round.
This startup provides Software-as-a-Service tools, financing, and analytical information for healthcare providers and public health organizations.
Three years ago, Helium Health, headquartered in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, conducted a Series A funding round, which resulted in funds raised in the amount of $10 million. A year and a half ago, the startup signed a cooperation agreement with the medical platform Meddy, based in the UAE. This is an example of a rare collaboration between a company from Africa and a firm from one of the Persian Gulf countries.
The HeliumDoc product combines the capabilities of Meddy telemedicine and the Helium Health revenue cycle management service within a single solution. This product is used in Nigeria. There is also the prospect of expanding the use of Helium Doc in East African countries.
The startup and its partner from the UAE are currently discussing the possibility of implementing HeliumOS, a product for digitizing electronic medical records (EMR) and for managing hospitals throughout Africa, in the Persian Gulf countries.
The received funding provides Helium Health with financial opportunities for the implementation of planned projects. By 2024, the startup intends to expand its loan portfolio to 1,000 medical institutions as part of a partnership program with the American International Development Finance Corporation
(DFC).
Currently, 90% of healthcare institutions in Africa operate through the use of paper document management. Against this background, Helium Health offers an advanced approach involving the digitization of medical processes and EMR records for relevant service providers using the software.
At a certain point, the startup realized that the problem of digitalization is not the only weak side of African healthcare. In the context of the development of the sphere, the issue of accessibility of financing is of particular importance. Realizing the importance of meeting this need, the startup launched the HeliumCredit financial instrument.
Experts say that the African health sector critically lacks capitalization. Currently, the financing deficit in this industry is 66 billion per year. Over the past 15 years, the amount of money allocated by African Governments to support the health system has decreased by 8%. In Nigeria, 57% of private medical institutions do not have access to external sources of funding.
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