The 5 healthcare startups on a high in Egypt
MAGNiTT's 2019 Healthcare Venture Investment Report states that the region has seen increased investment activity in the region over the last 5 years. 2019 saw 31 investment deals take place, which accounted for 6% of all investments, and $21M was raised, making up 3% of total funding.
With 2020 and the onset of COVID-19 accelerating digital transformation, Egypt, in particular, has seen a timely boost in the funding activity of a number of remote telehealth and online booking platforms, illustrating the shift from face-to-face services to the truly digital world we are now living in. Our 2019 Egypt Venture Investment Report highlighted that for the first time in history, the country ranked first by the number of deals in the region, surpassing the UAE in 2019. The momentum kept going in 2020 as Egypt again ranked no.1 by the number of deals in H1 (25%) and no.2 by total funding (19%).
Not only has funding activity been prevalent, but several Egyptian healthcare startups have stepped up, come forward, and provided their services, free of charge, in times of need. Vezeeta collaborated with MSD Egypt to drive nationwide public health awareness campaigns and also launched free medical consultation services for people experiencing flu symptoms. Despite being UAE-based, Altibbi launched a partnership with Ibrahim A. Badran Charitable Foundation to help underprivileged people in Egypt get yearly unlimited access to telehealth solutions. Such initiatives and partnerships have been substantial over the past challenging few months and have not been unique to Egypt - across MENA, we have seen the industry provide support through the channel that they know best.
Discover more than 110 Egypt-based Healthcare startups on MAGNiTT
Meet the 5 healthcare startups on a high in Egypt below. The companies listed are based on MAGNiTT data of the top 5 Healthcare startups in Egypt that received the highest amount of disclosed funding from 2015 - 2020 so far.
1. Vezeeta
Vezeeta.com is a digital healthcare booking platform and practice management software in MENA, making healthcare easily accessible in the region. With over 200,000 verified reviews, patients are able to search, compare, and book the best doctors in just 1 minute. Doctors also provide patients with seamless healthcare experiences through clinic management software.
The startup had the highest funding raised in an Egyptian healthcare startup, with a total of $66.6M raised in 5 rounds of Series A - D since 2017.
2. SmartCare
SmartCare offers child care providers and child care center owners the tools they need and want to make one of the toughest jobs in the world easier. They have devoted millions of dollars to solve the biggest challenges child care providers face and empower providers to do their job better. SmartCare is their partner, co-pilot, and advocate.
Since 2016, the startup has raised a total of $2M in Seed and Series A funding rounds, from the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund.
Nawah is an online destination to outsource scientific experiments in MENA/Africa. Nawah is a core hub of advanced equipment specialized in natural and medical sciences. Nawah’s online platform receives experiments requests, and their scientists carry them out and return results online. They serve industries in need of product development and analysis (Pharmaceuticals, Petro/Oil, chemicals, agriculture, etc.) as well as academics at universities in disciplines of life sciences (Biology, chem, pharma, etc.)
The startup has received a total of $1.9M in investments since 2016, with its latest round being led by the Cairo Angels.
4. Yodawy
Yodawy is an online medication ordering and pharmacy benefits management platform that allows you to order your medicine online from the comfort of your phone by uploading a picture of the prescription or using the search features (even if you don't get the spelling right, the technology has you covered). Yodawy has a network of 250K+ pharmacies, 24/7 customer support, and customer-centered products.
The startup raised $1M in a Series A round late last year, from Algebra Ventures, CVentures, ASI Ventures.
5. Rology
Rology is an on-demand teleradiology platform matching radiology scans coming from hospitals with radiologists. Rology’s technology can be launched with zero setup costs for hospitals as well as for radiologists and gives the radiologists the freedom to work from anywhere in the world as long as they have access to a laptop and internet connection.
In September 2020, the startup raised $860K in a Pre-Series A round, led by HIMangel. Dubai Angel Investors (DAI), The Asia Africa Investment & Consulting, and Athaal Group all participating in the round, bringing the startup in at the number 5 spot.
Pakistani startups saw $18M invested in H1 2020, with the overall number of deals increasing by 13% to 17 deals from H1 2019, illustrating the potential of Pakistan to become the next big South Asian entrepreneurial hotspot. Discover more trends in our H1 2020 Pakistan Venture Investment Report.