In a significant milestone for healthcare innovation in Kenya, Ilara Health, a pioneering healthtech startup, has successfully secured over $4.2 million in a pre-series A round of equity and debt financing.
The startup, dedicated to digitizing and unifying the fragmented landscape of primary care, announced the funding accomplishment on Monday. With this substantial capital infusion, Ilara Health is poised to accelerate the expansion of its tech-driven primary care model across Kenya, marking a pivotal step toward transforming healthcare delivery in the region and beyond.
According to punchng.com, part of the statement reads, “We will keep growing the already large partner clinics network, and incorporate the next phase of growth into its model, which includes the launch of the employee health services through B2B health & occupational services, initially in select locations and later throughout the country.”
The Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Ilara Health, Emilian Popa, said the goal was to improve the quality of healthcare for Africans.
“We passionately believe healthcare should be affordable and accessible to all and I’m, therefore, proud of the measurable impact we have achieved in such a short space of time.
“There’s still so much more to be done, which is why we are thrilled to be joined by prominent global investors who share our core vision for Kenya and ultimately all of Africa.”
He said the fund raised would build on its continued growth and enable it to drive standardised quality healthcare on the continent.
The startup said the pre-series was led by DOB Equity, AAIC Investment, Angaza Capital, Black Pearl Investments, and Perivoli Innovations, as well as debt investment from Alphamundi and Kiva Capital.
With this latest funding, its total investment to date has reached $11.7m, encompassing various funding rounds, such as a $3.75m seed round in 2020, along with multiple grants, including two grants totalling $1.6m from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
It further disclosed that the new partners to the round are Philips Foundation and Boehringer Ingelheim.
“The new partners are strategic healthcare investors that bring their deep experience working with and investing in companies in the global healthcare industry.”
The Director of Philips Foundation Impact Investments, Margot Cooijmans, said, “Supporting Ilara Health reflects Philips Foundation’s effort to improve healthcare access through innovation, aligning with our goal to make quality healthcare available for all.
“This investment is a practical step towards bridging the healthcare gap, focusing on solutions that can be implemented in communities that need them the most.”
Kenya has 10,000 privately owned primary care facilities and a further 7,000 that are publicly owned.
