NIGERIA —Helium Health, a Lagos-based healthcare startup and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) provider, has raised US$30 million in its Series B funding.
The Nigerian health tech company provides Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools, financing, and insights to healthcare providers and public health organizations.
The Series B funding was co-led by investment managers AXA IM Alts, Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, and Flatword Partners. Existing investors Global Ventures, Tencent, Ohara Pharmaceuticals, LCY Group, WTI, and AAIC also participated in the round.
Helium Health is one of West Africa’s largest EMR providers and aims to use the funding to scale up operations and expand its fintech product, HeliumCredit, a digital finance product for Africa’s healthcare sector.
Launched in 2020, HeliumCredit has provided over US$3.5 million in credit to more than 200 healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
These include hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and diagnostic centers that utilize the loans to purchase equipment, bulk medicines, and expand to new locations.
HeliumCredit can assess the creditworthiness of loan applicants and disburse loans as fast as 48 hours by leveraging insights into the finances and operations of healthcare providers obtained from its SaaS suite.
Helium Health reports high loan repayment rates for its fintech product.
According to a statement shared with Bendada.com, Helium Health plans to launch HeliumCredit in Kenya this year.
It also aims to increase its lending portfolio to 1000 healthcare facilities by 2024 in partnership with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.
The company will continue scaling its SaaS suite for healthcare providers through HeliumOS, its Electronic Medical Records and Hospital Management Information System (EMR/HMIS) solution.
HeliumOS helps health facilities of any size or specialty operate more efficiently, increase revenues, and enhance healthcare delivery.
The SaaS suite is used by over 10,000 health workers to care for more than 1 million patients, making it the widest-reaching EMR platform in West Africa.
During this growth phase, Helium Health also aims to strengthen its collaborations within the public health and global health communities, which are additional core focuses of its work.
Global health funders contribute approximately 15% of total health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa and play a critical role in addressing the continent’s leading causes of death, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and maternal and child mortality.
Helium Health aims to become the leading technology partner for public health entities by supporting the implementation of their programs and strategies in Africa.
Over the past year, Helium Health has secured funding from organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and MSD for Mothers to carry out projects under their maternal health program strategies.
Adegoke Olubusi, CEO and co-founder of Helium Health, stated, “We believe in a future where quality healthcare is accessible to all Africans, not just a privileged few.
“We are deeply committed to providing financial, technological, and data support to both private healthcare providers and public health stakeholders to achieve that vision.”
Noor Sweid, Managing Partner at Global Ventures, added, “We have witnessed the evolution of Helium Health firsthand over the years. The leadership team possesses a deep understanding of Africa’s healthcare sector and has the ability to develop products that meet its unique needs.”
Jonathan Dean, Head of Impact Investing at AXA IM Alts, expressed his organization’s delight in investing in Helium Health’s mission of providing digital solutions to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health services in resource-constrained environments, while also offering affordable financial services directly to health sector enterprises.
Helium Health recognizes that an under-resourced environment, combined with a lack of digitization and automation, adversely affects healthcare delivery, resulting in medical errors and prolonged patient wait times.
According to a Foresight Africa 2022 report, Africa’s healthcare landscape has never experienced such significant changes or attracted such substantial interest in the past half-century.
In fact, it is projected that Africa’s healthcare sector will be valued at approximately US$259 billion by 2030.
However, while these trends present a lucrative opportunity for the private sector, if not properly regulated, Africa’s healthcare system may end up pushing more Africans below the poverty line.
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