BY TOM JACKSON
Nigerian e-health startup MDaas Global has raised a US$2.3 million seed extension funding round to help it launch a new service – SentinelX – and expand across the country.
Founded in 2017 by Oluwasoga Oni, Opeyemi Ologun, Genevieve Barnard Oni, and Joseph McCord, MDaaS Global is building and operating a network of modern, tech-enabled diagnostic centres across Nigeria.
Through its patient-facing brand BeaconHealth Diagnostics, the startup offers a wide range of services including imaging services such as digital x-ray and ultrasound, cardiac services such as ECG and echo, and lab services, ranging from chemistry analysis and immunoassay to hematology.
So far MDaaS Global has launched seven centres in Ibadan, Ilorin, Osogbo, Lagos and Abuja, and provided diagnostic services to over 40,000 patients in underserved communities. The company has also performed over 80,000 diagnostics tests across cardiology, radiology, neurology, laboratory, and general health checks.
It has now raised a US$2.3 million seed extension round led by Newtown Partners via the Imperial Venture Fund, with participation from CRI Foundation, FINCA Ventures, Techstars, and Future Africa, among others.
With the funding, MDaaS Global is launching SentinelX, a digital health membership that champions preventive, personalised, and continuous care using proprietary technology. Currently in private beta and with a speedily growing waitlist, SentinelX is set to launch publicly in September 2021.
The extension round, which brings MDaaS Global’s total funding to date to US$3.7 million, will also be used to help the company rapidly scale its physical footprint across Nigeria to become the largest diagnostic chain in the country. It plans to expand to six new cities in 2021, and aims to operate 100 centres across the continent and serve one million patients per year by 2025.
“Unrestricted access to quality healthcare has always been our principal objective and the pandemic has compelled us to consider innovative ways of offering more proactive care. This additional funding will propel our growth as we look to serve more people and in more ways,” said Oni, MDaaS Global’s chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder.
“SentinelX combines a human touch – which is still needed, with advanced technology to provide faster, easier healthcare solutions for Nigerians. But importantly, it makes preventive care more accessible and affordable. This will pave the way for lowering overall medical costs for patients as well as improving their health outcomes in the long run.”
Llew Claasen, managing partner at Newtown Partners, said most consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa receive suboptimal medical care because of infrastructure gaps, low physician density, delays in diagnostics, and a lack of health data visibility.
“We think the physical diagnostic infrastructure that MDaaS is building out, coupled with the means to collect data and deliver value-added software services, has the potential to completely change the way that physicians, clinicians and pharmacists do their jobs and lead to better health outcomes for a huge number of previously underserved consumers,” he said.
