GHANA – Redbird, an Accra-based healthtech startup, has secured US$1.5 million in a Seed Round of investment with participation from Johnson & Johnson Foundation and Newtown Partners via the Imperial Venture Fund.

According to the startup, the funding will be used to expand Redbird’s business model, operations and to enter new markets.

“We’re thrilled to work with Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures and Newtown Partners. Newtown and Imperial’s expertise in African supply chains, coupled with Johnson & Johnson’s long-standing commitment to improving care for the most vulnerable populations through technology, create strong support for our vision of revolutionizing health monitoring,” Patrick Beattie, co-founder, and CEO of Redbird said.

Founded in 2018, the innovative African tech healthtech startup enables patients in the region to easily manage their health through five-minute medical tests available at community pharmacies. Merging technology with health, the startup’s app enables patients to access their health records digitally.

“We’re excited about Redbird’s decentralised business model that enables rapid diagnostic testing at the point of primary care in local community pharmacies.”

Llew Claasen – Managing Partner, Newtown Partners

The decentralised business model ensures that healthcare is available to all individuals in the region. Redbird offers access to medical testing for chronic diseases. This system enables patients in Ghana to receive an accurate diagnosis and how to manage and track their possible chronic illnesses such as diabetes.

“We’re excited about Redbird’s decentralised business model that enables rapid diagnostic testing at the point of primary care in local community pharmacies,” Llew Claasen, Managing Partner of Newtown Partners said.

“Redbird’s digital health record platform has the potential to drive significant value to the broader healthcare value chain and is a vital step toward improving healthcare outcomes in Africa. We look forward to supporting the team as they prove out their business model and scale across the African continent.”

According to reports, Redbird is a partner with 340 pharmacies in Ghana where individuals can access medical testing and register for the platform.

Redbird enables pharmacies in Ghana to add to their pharmacy services rapid diagnostic testing for 10 different health conditions. These tests include anaemia, blood sugar, blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol, Hepatitis B, malaria, typhoid, prostate cancer screening and pregnancy. 

Also, Redbird provides pharmacies with the necessary equipment, supplies and software to make this possible.

The software, Redbird Health Monitoring, is networked across all partner pharmacies and enables patients to build medical testing records after going through five-minute medical tests offered through these pharmacies.

Currently, there are 10 different rapid tests available for individuals. The results are kept private and saved to individuals’ personal Redbird health records on the app. Working hand-in-hand with medical professionals, doctors are provided the results, with the consent of users, to provide a complete picture of a patient’s medical health history.