Nigeria’s MDaaS Global closes its $1m seed round

Medtech startup MDaaS Global today announced that it has closed its $1-million seed round, raising $1 030 000.

It follows a report by Ventureburn in April that the startup had raised just over $1-million in equity funding, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on 1 April (see this story).

The filing at the time noted that the total offering amount was $1 580 062, while the amount sold was listed as $1 055 496, with $524 566 remaining to be sold.

The filing furthermore stated that up to 12 investors were involved and that the round which commenced on 15 March.

It appears the startup did not manage to raise the $1.5-million it was after.

MDaaS confirmed today that a deal that Ventureburn reported in April forms part of the same round. The startup added that the round closed last Thursday (13 June).

MDaas Global was founded in 2016 by CEO Oluwasoga Oni, Opeyemi Ologun, Genevieve Barnard Oni, and Joseph McCord

The round was led by Lagos-based Consonance Investment Managers, with the participation of Techstars and Finca Ventures. The Fund for Africa’s Future, which is led by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Nadayar Enegesi, as well as Greentree Investment Company and other unnamed investors also participated in the round.

The startup explained in a statement today that the new investment will help it scale and replicate its diagnostic centre business model, as the firm seeks to open 100 additional centres in Nigeria as well as the greater West Africa in the next five years.

The startup —  which was founded in 2016 by CEO Oluwasoga Oni, Opeyemi Ologun, Genevieve Barnard Oni, and Joseph McCord — is tackling what it says is a $1.6-billion sector in Nigeria alone.

The startup offers a wide array of high-impact diagnostic procedures from simple malaria tests to echo-cardiograms and pap smears.

MDaaS leverages its vertically-integrated supply chain, technology platform, and patient-centred design to provide modern services at a price point patients can afford — with basic procedures, like obstetric ultrasounds starting at $4.

The company launched its flagship diagnostic centre in Ibadan, Nigeria’s third most populous city, in 2017 under its patient and physician-facing brand BeaconHealth. So far, the company says it has served over 9000 low and middle-income patients.

In addition, MDaaS says it has partnered with over 60 health facilities and also serves as the centralised diagnostic department for surrounding hospitals and clinics within Ibadan.

The startup also partners globally with corporates, health maintenance organisations and developmental organisations seeking top-tier diagnostics for their employees and beneficiaries.

Last September, Nigerian venture capital (VC) firm Ventures Platform invested $100 000 into MDaaS Global. The investment followed the startup’s selection last June into the first cohort of the Techstors Impact accelerator.

Last year, the MIT-incubated startup was also accepted into the Havard Innovation Labs Venture Incubation Programme.

Read more: Nigerian medtech startup MDaaS Global raises over $1m in equity funding
Read more: Ventures Platform backs healthtech startup MDaaS with $100k investment

Featured image: A patient undergoing sonography at one of MDaaS diagnostic facilities (Supplied)