Interswitch Group acquires Nigerian startup eClat Healthcare

Lagos-based digital payments firm Interswitch Group has acquired eClat Healthcare, a Nigerian startup that develops hospital management software solutions.

Interswitch said in a statement last Wednesday (6 November) that the deal was completed on 30 September and involved the company acquiring a 60% stake in eClat through the purchase of shares from current shareholders and subscription to new shares issued by the company.

The company yesterday declined to disclose just how much it had acquired eClat for.

eClat was founded in 2012 by Dr Wallace Ogufere and Femi Olapegba

Dr Wallace Ogufere and Femi Olapegba founded eClat in 2012. The startup’s flagship product, the e-Clinic software, includes electronic billing, immunization, ante-natal and care pathway functions, as well as a variety of additional specialist modules.

Interswitch said prior to the acquisition, eClat’s platform was being used in over 250 public and private healthcare facilities in Nigeria.

The company explained that the combined offerings of Interswitch and eClat are expected to enable operators in the healthcare sector to develop new capabilities, improve the efficiency of their core operations and facilitate seamless payments.

Interswitch founder, CEO and group managing director Mitchell Elegbe (pictured above) said the eClat acquisition is aligned to the group’s corporate vision and aligns with its vision to deliver value across sectors that are critical to Africa’s social and economic development.

Elegbe pointed out that healthcare is rapidly evolving towards new, integrated and scalable models of care delivery that put the consumer at the centre.

Opportunity to introduce Interswitch products

He said the acquisition represents an opportunity for the company to introduce a number of Interswitch’s products, such as its Verve Health cards and payment collection as well as disbursement solutions that will drive much needed efficiency in payments for health services across the value chain.

Ogufere said the growing adoption of value-based care, combined with the increasing level of usage of patient portals across the industry, has made it critical to take a new approach to patient engagement solution design in Nigeria.

“We expect to tightly integrate the eClat capabilities into the Interswitch platform, adding functionality that would enable providers to reach their entire patient populations by leveraging existing patient contact information,” he added.

*Correction: We accidentally had it that Interswitch’s statement was released on 6 October, when in fact it was on 6 November. This has been corrected.

Featured image: Interswitch founder, CEO and group managing director Mitchell Elegbe (eClat)