In line with this World Well being Group (WHO) article on treating most cancers, detecting symptomatic sufferers as early as doable provides them the most effective likelihood for profitable therapy. Although the piece is a template for most cancers therapy, it applies to any illness, lethal or not.
Diagnostics is on the middle of healthcare; with out it, docs and physicians can’t provide therapy. However in rising markets like Africa, the place infrastructure is missing and the doctor-to-patient ratio stands at a staggering 1:5,000, common checkups are sometimes thought-about an afterthought.
Healthtracka, a Lagos-based well being tech searching for to vary this narrative and drum house the proverb “prevention is best than remedy” with its at-home lab testing platform, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding. Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson launched the corporate with Victor Amusan in Might 2021. And the information comes 5 months after its participation within the Techstars Toronto accelerator program final October.
Dare-Johnson labored a number of years within the healthcare house earlier than beginning Healthtracka. Sooner or later, she led advertising and marketing efforts at a diagnostic middle. But, it wasn’t a love for her work that pushed the chief govt to deal with this downside; as an alternative, it was a firsthand expertise of the problems late or no diagnostics could cause.
“As a scientist, I studied biochemistry in class and labored within the lab, so I knew how vital diagnostics was. Nevertheless it wasn’t till about 4 years in the past, when my dad had handed, that I began to look carefully into the house,” the founder and CEO instructed TechCrunch in an interview. “We stay in Africa, the place healthcare infrastructure is poor. So you’ll assume that that may make individuals extra acutely aware about their well being, realizing no person will save them. Sadly, that’s not the case.”
Although seemingly match and wholesome on the floor, Dare-Johnson mentioned her dad had undetected well being points regarding diabetes and hypertension for a very long time. Whereas thousands and thousands of Africans are responsible of non-public well being miscalculations, different elements contribute to irregular checkups similar to ready occasions and sluggish physician consultations when current in a hospital.
Telemedicine utilization in Africa has skyrocketed because the pandemic because it addresses a few of these challenges discouraging sufferers from making routine checkups. Nonetheless, there are gaps in what telemedicine can cowl. As an example, after most physician consultations, sufferers are required to go to hospitals for lab checks, which makes as much as 70% of all medical decision-making. Then there’s the problem of comfort when sufferers really feel reluctant to go to a laboratory or hospital.
“These had been a number of the issues that I noticed clearly and questioned how we may get healthcare to that stage the place you might be at house and entry it seamlessly,” she mentioned. “We thought that might be a game-changer to how healthcare supply might be improved in Africa. Any individual wanted to return into that house to consider easy methods to resolve these operational challenges, construct the logistics, expertise and the infrastructure to help the concept of at-home lab testing.”
In line with this World Well being Group (WHO) article on treating most cancers, detecting symptomatic sufferers as early as doable provides them the most effective likelihood for profitable therapy. Although the piece is a template for most cancers therapy, it applies to any illness, lethal or not.
Diagnostics is on the middle of healthcare; with out it, docs and physicians can’t provide therapy. However in rising markets like Africa, the place infrastructure is missing and the doctor-to-patient ratio stands at a staggering 1:5,000, common checkups are sometimes thought-about an afterthought.
Healthtracka, a Lagos-based healthtech searching for to vary this narrative and drum house the proverb “prevention is best than remedy” with its at-home lab testing platform, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding. Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson launched the corporate with Victor Amusan in Might 2021. And the information comes 5 months after its participation within the Techstars Toronto accelerator program final October.
Dare-Johnson labored a number of years within the healthcare house earlier than beginning Healthtracka. Sooner or later, she led advertising and marketing efforts at a diagnostic middle. But, it wasn’t a love for her work that pushed the chief govt to deal with this downside; as an alternative, it was a firsthand expertise of the problems late, or no diagnostics could cause.
“As a scientist, I studied biochemistry in class and labored within the lab, so I knew how vital diagnostics was. Nevertheless it wasn’t till about 4 years in the past, when my dad had handed, that I began to look carefully into the house,” the founder and CEO instructed TechCrunch in an interview. “We stay in Africa, the place healthcare infrastructure is poor. So you’ll assume that that may make individuals extra acutely aware about their well being, realizing no person will save them. Sadly, that’s not the case.”
Although seemingly match and wholesome on the floor, Dare-Johnson mentioned her dad had undetected well being points regarding diabetes and hypertension for a very long time. Whereas thousands and thousands of Africans are responsible of non-public well being miscalculations, different elements contribute to irregular checkups similar to ready occasions and sluggish physician consultations when current in a hospital.
Telemedicine utilization in Africa has skyrocketed because the pandemic because it addresses a few of these challenges discouraging sufferers from making routine checkups. Nonetheless, there are gaps in what telemedicine can cowl. As an example, after most physician consultations, sufferers are required to go to hospitals for lab checks, which makes as much as 70% of all medical decision-making. Then there’s the problem of comfort when sufferers really feel reluctant to go to a laboratory or hospital.
“These had been a number of the issues that I noticed clearly and questioned how we may get healthcare to that stage the place you might be at house and entry it seamlessly,” she mentioned. “We thought that might be a recreation changer to how healthcare supply might be improved in Africa. Any individual wanted to return into that house to consider easy methods to resolve these operational challenges, construct the logistics, expertise, and the infrastructure to help the concept of at-home lab testing.”
Healthtracka’s providing is a web site the place people can e-book their lab checks on-line, have their samples collected at house and get their outcomes through electronic mail inside 48 hours. The checks vary from fertility and STD checks to full physique rely and COVID checks.
The one-year-old well being tech firm focuses on preventive care and companions with lab facilities — which ship their phlebotomists to clients’ properties — to diagnose. Dare-Johnson mentioned the group’s expertise within the diagnostic subject helps it create high quality checklists to vet these lab facilities, one in all which is assembly the usual ISO laboratory accreditation.
Healthtracka additionally works with docs to evaluate outcomes and specialists for additional session. However whereas a typical take a look at covers phlebotomists’ journeys and docs’ reviewing outcomes, clients pay additional when Healthtracka connects them with specialists if the analysis is worrying.
“If you happen to do your full-body checkup with us, and there are indicators that present it’s good to take note of a few of your markers, which our inner docs cater to,” mentioned the CEO. “But when they really feel it’s good to search a specialist opinion on the outcome’s marker, then we refer you to a specialist.”
Healthtracka’s community of phlebotomists has elevated 20x since its launch to over 100. And in line with Dare-Johnson, the corporate has delivered near 7,000 checks at house. Its income is rising 30% month on month consequently.
The corporate is taking three approaches to pursue extra development and diversify its income streams. First, it’s launching subscription plans for its retail clients. The second is betting on its B2B play: providing APIs for telehealth service suppliers, hospitals and pharmacies to offer at-home blood testing for his or her sufferers. Third, the well being tech firm is trying to prolong its presence past seven Nigerian cities to Kenya and Ghana earlier than the tip of the yr.
“Our progress has moved from being B2C to an infrastructure play, by some means. We wish to energy digital diagnostics and empower healthcare suppliers to achieve their clients the place they’re comfy,” the chief govt mentioned. “This may assist attain extra individuals, save extra lives and make sure that healthcare is best in Africa.”
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson (Healthtracka founder and CEO). Picture Credit: Healthtracka
The funding will help Healthtracka in its subsequent development section because it additionally scales its B2B2C providing the place accomplice corporations in Nigeria can ship at-home testing to their staff.
Buyers on this spherical embrace Africa-focused early-stage VC Ingressive Capital and U.S.-based enterprise fund Hustle Fund. Angel traders included Alumni Angel Alliance and Flying Docs.
“Ifeoluwa is hungry and really vibrant. Not solely did we anonymously use Healthtracka’s companies in diligence and have a ten/10 expertise, we acknowledged really what this might turn out to be throughout the continent, even from simply interacting together with her group for checks,” mentioned Maya Horgan Famodu, founding father of Ingressive Capital on the increase. “The product is top of the range, on time, reasonably priced and unlocking the door for a more healthy Africa.”
African well being and biotech corporations raised $392 million in funding in 2021; lower than $2 million was raised by feminine well being tech founders. Healthtracka joins a really transient listing that features the likes of French and Ivorian-based Susu and Nigerian-based Medsaf as one of many few well being tech venture-backed startups with indigenous feminine CEOs to have raised over $1 million in a single spherical.
A standard theme amongst a few of Healthtracka’s traders — Ingressive, Hustle and Flying Docs, together with FirstCheck Africa, one of many startup’s first backers — is that they’re female-led. Enterprise rounds similar to this are a testomony to the truth that girls traders are walking the walk and collectively improving access to capital for girls founders.
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