Nigerian startup Reliance Health is a digital healthcare provider focused on offering more accessible and affordable services in emerging markets. Today, the company secured $40 million in the largest Series B funding in the African healthcare industry to date.
$40M investment
The investment round came was led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity investor alongside participation from Arvantis Social Foundation, Partech, Picus Capital, Tencent Exploration, AAIC (Asia Africa Investment and Consulting), P1 Ventures, Laerdal Million Lives Fund, and M3. Inc. Also, it is General Atlantic’s first technology investment in Africa.
With this round, Reliance Health has raised $48 million in total funding. Previously, it raised $6 million in a Series A funding round in January 2020 led by Partech alongside other investors.
Reliance Health will use proceeds of this round to fuel continued growth in Nigeria, expand into additional emerging markets worldwide, and add new products that complement existing proprietary technology, facilities, and partnerships. Also, it will use the funds to hire additional top talent.
“Healthcare in emerging markets is often overlooked by private initiatives because it’s an extremely complex challenge to solve. At Reliance Health, by leveraging new innovations to break the constraints of legacy solutions, we believe there is an opportunity to solve some of these tough problems and even for aspects of healthcare in emerging markets to leapfrog to other parts of the world. We are excited to work with our investors towards bringing affordability and accessibility in healthcare to underserved markets, ultimately saving lives around the world,” said Femi Kuti, Reliance Health CEO and Co-Founder.
Chris Caulkin, Head of EMEA Technology and Managing Director at General Atlantic. “We have been consistently impressed by Femi and Ope, who exemplify the entrepreneurialism and innovation we see across the African continent. We look forward to sharing our experience as a leading global growth equity investor in support of Reliance Health’s exciting and important mission.”
“We led Reliance Health’s Series A because we saw a team that combines great vision with superb execution. They have proven this by delivering a product that is successful with large corporate as well as micro-businesses, opening up access to healthcare for underserved segments of the population. All of the Partech team feels proud and excited to see top global investors join the company as it scales in Nigeria as well as new markets,” said Tidjane Dème, General Partner at Partech.
“Financial barriers prevent millions of people from receiving the life-saving and life-improving care that they need in low- and middle-income countries. Ensuring equitable access to healthcare coverage is something we care deeply about as mission-driven healthcare investors, and we’re honored to partner with Femi Kuti and the entire Reliance Health team to help scale their offering to achieve the largest potential impact,” said Jeff Trost, Managing Partner at Laerdal Million Lives Fund.
Affordable, accessible healthcare
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria and Austin, Texas, Reliance Health began operations in Nigeria in 2015 as a telemedicine-focused startup, Kangpe. It was founded by Femi Kuti, Opeyemi Olumekun, and Matthew Mayaki. Later, it expanded into a single-fee healthcare provider to better address the complex and evolving needs of patients.
Reliance Health uses technology to bring more affordable and accessible healthcare to leading companies in emerging markets including Biersdorf Nivea, Jumia, PWC, Merrybet, Regus, and others. It has witnessed an average 3.5x year-over-year revenue growth and offers an integrated approach that includes flat fee healthcare plans, telemedicine, prescription delivery, and a combination of partner and proprietary healthcare facilities in one single platform with one single fee.
Uses integrated tech!
Through an integrated approach that includes affordable health insurance, telemedicine and a combination of partner and proprietary healthcare facilities, Reliance Health offers innovative healthcare solutions that meet the needs of emerging markets.
Currently, it is one of Nigeria’s leading digital health providers, supporting individuals and organisations. For a fixed monthly or annual fee, Reliance Health offers comprehensive health coverage through a 24/7 telemedicine platform that allows for medication pickup and delivery, a proprietary network of clinics or through an extensive network of almost 2,000 partner healthcare facilities.
