Nigerian Health Tech Start-Up Gleans $1.5m Seed Funding

Healthtracka, a Lagos-based health tech has raised $1.5 million in seed funding. This news comes five months after its participation in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Programme last October (2021). Investors in this round include Africa-focused early-stage VC Ingressive Capital and US-based venture fund Hustle Fund. Angel investors included Alumni Angels Alliance and Flying Doctors. 

Healthtracka was founded in May 2021 by Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson, the CEO and Co-Founder who was inspired by her dad’s health challenges and Victor Amusan, Co-Founder and Head of Product. The start-up provides a website where individuals can book their lab tests online, have their samples collected at home, and get their results via email within 48 hours. The tests range from fertility and STD tests to full body count and COVID-19 tests. 

The one-year-old health tech focuses on preventive care and partners with lab centres—which send their phlebotomists to customers’ homes to diagnose. 

Healthtracka also works with doctors to review results and specialists for further consultation. But while a typical test covers phlebotomists’ trips and doctors’ reviewing results, customers pay extra when Healthtracka connects them with specialists if the diagnosis is worrying.

“If you do your full body checkup with us, and there are indicators that show you need to pay attention to some of your markers, which our internal doctors cater to,” said the CEO. “But if they feel you need to seek a specialist opinion on the result’s marker, then we refer you to a specialist.” 

Telemedicine usage in Africa has skyrocketed since the pandemic as it addresses some of these challenges discouraging patients from making routine checkups. However, there are gaps in what telemedicine can cover. For instance, after most doctor consultations, patients are required to visit hospitals for lab tests, which make up 70 per cent of all clinical decision-making. Then there’s the issue of convenience when patients feel reluctant to visit a laboratory or hospital. 

Healthtracka will deploy this funding into scaling its B2B2C offering where partner companies in Nigeria can deliver at-home testing to their employees. The company is currently taking three approaches to pursue more growth and diversify its revenue streams. First, it is launching subscription plans for its retail customers. Secondly, it is betting on B2B by offering APIs for telehealth service providers, hospitals, and pharmacies to provide at-home blood testing for their patients. Third, the company is looking to expand beyond seven Nigerian cities to Kenya and Ghana before the end of the year. 

“Our progress has moved from being B2C to an infrastructure play, somehow. We want to power digital diagnostics and empower healthcare providers to reach their customers where they are comfortable,” the CEO, Dare-Johnson said. “This will help reach more people, save more lives, and ensure that healthcare is better in Africa.”

In 2021 alone, African health and biotech raised $392 million in funding. However, less than $2 million was raised by female health tech founders. Healthtracka now joins a very short list that includes the likes of Susu and Medsaf as one of the few health tech venture-backed startups with indigenous female CEOs to have raised over $1 million in a single round.