Africa Rocket Health Telemedicine
The world over, the popularity of telemedicine spiked during the COVID pandemic, growing 78 times in April 2020, a few months after the disease struck, according to a McKinsey study.
In some parts of Africa, it was a great opportunity for telemedicine to make new inroads. But in Uganda, the industry had already taken off, albeit slowly, through Rocket Health, a startup working to transform the delivery of medical care using technology.
Launched in 2012, Rocket Health offers online medical consultation, collection of samples, and delivery of medicines. They also have a USSD service for those without internet connection. After nearly a decade of operation in Uganda, the startup is now set to scale its integrated digital health solution to more regions across the country and within East Africa over the next two years, following a $5 million Series A funding. In the long term, it will pursue growth opportunities in West Africa.
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Rocket Health’s co-founder and CEO, Davis Musinguzi, told TechCrunch that the greater plan remains making healthcare easily accessible across Africa, a region with the highest disease burden in the world and the lowest patient-to-doctor ratio.
Currently, countries across sub-Saharan Africa have 0.23 doctors for every 10,000 people, against the best ratio of 84.2 doctors in the most developed countries, according to the World Health Organization.
The startup’s latest funding round was led by Creadev, an evergreen investment firm backed by Mulliez family, with participation of early-stage African investors Grenfell Holdings and LoftyInc Capital Management. The round brings the total funding raised by Rocket Health to $6.2 million.
Rocket Health runs its own lab and pharmacy delivery services, which Musinguzi said helps them remain in control of the delivery of products and services. They charge a $3 consultation fee and $1.5 for drug delivery.
The company has grown from a few thousand virtual consultations a year to about 400,000, propelled by the demand for remote healthcare during the pandemic.
Africa Rocket Health Telemedicine
