Kenyan health-tech startup, Ilara Health, has successfully concluded a $4.2 million pre-series A round, combining equity and debt funding. The funding, led by DOB Equity, also involved contributions from AAIC Investment, Angaza Capital, Black Pearl Investments, Perivoli Innovations, Alphamundi, and Kiva Capital.
New additions to the round include the Philips Foundation and Boehringer Ingelheim. With this funding, Ilara Health’s total investment to date has reached $11.7 million, encompassing previous rounds and grants, including support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Ilara Health, founded in 2019, aims to enhance healthcare accessibility in peri-urban areas of Kenya. The startup initially addressed diagnostic disparities in primary healthcare centers, providing revenue-generating diagnostic assets, flexible repayment plans, and training. The company has expanded its offerings to digitize end-to-end operations, managing patient bases electronically and serving as a one-stop shop for diagnostic tools, consumables, and pharmaceuticals.
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Funding to Enable Ilara Health Scale-Up its Tech Plans
The latest funding will enable Ilara Health to scale its tech-enabled primary care model across Kenya, followed by expansion into other regions. Over the next 12 months, the focus will be on achieving significant topline growth, expanding the partner clinics network, and launching employee health services through B2B health and occupational services.
Ilara Health plans to invest significantly in technology, utilizing a proprietary Practice Management Software (PMS) to analyze primary care provider performance. Live data from the PMS will inform follow-on asset lending and working capital, ranging from $10,000 to $15,000, for clinic rejuvenations, staff training, diagnostic equipment provision, and co-branding opportunities.
Conclusion
The company, having partnered with over 3,000 clinics across 42 Kenyan counties, intends to use its innovative tech infrastructure to address the estimated $66 billion financing gap and outdated processes in healthcare delivery across the African continent.
Ilara Health expresses excitement about collaborating with global investors to redefine medical care standards in Africa and anticipates driving standardized, quality healthcare on the continent.
