Egypt’s HealthTech Startup, Vezeeta Secured Undisclosed Sum in Growth Funding
Vezeeta, an Egyptian health tech startup, has secured new growth capital to boost its expansion plans and fund upcoming M&A deals in the Middle East and Africa. The round was led by its long-term partners and investors, Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Capital and Sweden-based VNV Global. Vezeeta is now poised to spearhead its expansion into new products and seek acquisitions across the region to provide cutting-edge healthcare solutions to a broader base of patients.
The health tech startup has evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of the patients it serves. The platform’s original doctor’s consultation booking solution advanced into a single point of care for digital outpatient services through dynamic and ambitious product and business diversifications to create value for its patients, healthcare providers, and the healthcare ecosystem at large. It claims to have over 10 million patients spread across 80 cities.
Vezeeta’s Founder and CEO, Amir Barsoum, expressed his gratitude to the investors, saying, “It took seven years for our healthcare marketplace to earn the trust of 5 million patients.” In comparison, our digital provider vertical, which includes online pharmacies and digitally-managed clinics, reached the same milestone in less than two years. This remarkable performance is a testament to our talent, our partners from doctors, clinics, pharmacies, and labs, as well as our shareholders and investors, without whom this feat would not be possible. Today, I am especially grateful to Gulf Capital and VNV Global for their support and investment, which has enabled us to embark on a new growth journey, bringing our innovation to more people in the MEA region.”
What the Investors are saying
Alvaro Abella, Managing Director, Private Equity at Gulf Capital, commented on the round, saying, “Since the beginning of our relationship with Vezeeta, we shared a common vision of improving healthcare access and efficiency in our region through health-tech innovation.” We are extremely proud of Amir Barsoum and the Vezeeta team’s achievements in continuously reinventing the future of healthcare and achieving profitability in 2022. Vezeeta is the largest health-tech platform in MENA with over 10 million patients across 80 cities. Egypt remains an important market for us, and we recently opened regional offices in Cairo to continue to support successful growth stories like Vezeeta.”
While Björn von Sivers, Investment Manager at VNV Global, stated, “Over the years, we have witnessed Vezeeta’s progress to become a market leader with its best-in-class product and differentiated business model while simultaneously generating value for its patients and stakeholders.” With the rise of digitalization in every aspect of MEA’s healthcare landscape, now is the time for Vezeeta to rapidly scale its innovative solutions while proactively addressing the day-to-day challenges faced by millions. We’re excited to work with Vezeeta’s stellar team to support the next stage of their journey to transform the future of healthcare.”
About Vezeeta
In 2012, Ahmed Badr and Amir Barsoum founded the digital health platform. It has raised at least $73 million since its inception, with its most recent funding round of $40 million in February 2020.
According to Wamda, startups in the MENA region raised $173 million in 51 deals last month, a 54% decrease from August and a 50% decrease from September 2021.
Egyptian startups raised approximately $375 million in the first nine months of this year, compared to $371 million in the same period last year.
According to data from Statista, revenue in the global digital health market is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 12 percent over the next five years, reaching a total market value of $256 billion by 2027.
Vezeeta’s Offerings
To adapt to the changes in the healthcare landscape caused by the pandemic, Vezeeta initiated several major growth drivers, such as:
Vezeeta’s introduction of the ‘Doctor’s Subscription Model’ marked the company’s first significant step toward a subscription-based SaaS model, which now provides an expanded suite of digital healthcare solutions to over 35,000 doctors. These bundles provide reduced costs for cutting-edge solutions, making healthcare landscape digitization faster and more efficient.
Vezeeta’s Pharmacy Solution improved the pharmacy experience for Egyptian customers by providing 60-minute home deliveries in major cities. Today, the solution has seen a 5X increase in medication orders, has spread to Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria, and now includes e-prescription integration and geo-location tracking.
Vezeeta is reimagining the modern clinical experience for patients through its various technology solutions, which are currently being tested in 20 outposts across Egypt. The platform is already seeing increased throughput and productivity in the locations, as well as improved efficiencies for its medical doctors and clinical partners.
The two-hour lab sample collection solution expanded Vezeeta’s already robust healthcare offerings across Cairo and Giza to provide patients with effortless healthcare convenience.
Its increasing profitability and this latest round of funding will enable the Company to accelerate the rollout of its product roadmap and target new areas of growth.