06th March, 2024 - Lagos, Nigeria. MDaaS Global, a pioneering healthtech company and operator of Nigeria’s fastest-growing healthcare network - BeaconHealth Diagnostics, has raised a $3 million Pre-Series A round of financing. The round was co-led by Aruwa Capital Management and follow-on investor Newtown Partners. It also landed additional follow-on investment from Ventures Platform, one of the company’s earliest institutional investors. This new round of financing brings MDaaS Global’s total investment to date to $6.8 million.
The additional capital will be used to further develop the company's proprietary technology platform, BeaconOS, which it launched last year, and to expand its healthcare network to all 36 states in Nigeria through a mix of company-owned and affiliate clinics. This strategic move propels MDaaS Global closer to its mission of democratising access to high-quality diagnostics and healthcare services across the continent.
With a focus on reaching underserved communities, MDaaS Global launched its first diagnostic clinic in 2017, providing imaging, cardiac, and laboratory services. Since then, the company has experienced remarkable growth, expanding to 17 locations across 10 states in Nigeria. Through a combination of its technology backbone and distributed care network, MDaaS Global has served over 275,000 patients to date and currently supports over 1,300 healthcare facilities, companies, and HMOs who rely on BeaconHealth for their diagnostics needs.
BeaconOS, the company’s latest technology, serves as the digital backbone of MDaaS Global's healthcare network, akin to a computer’s operating system, that optimises and connects their physical clinics, which act as the 'hardware.' Built on top of BeaconOS are a suite of applications designed both to streamline healthcare delivery at BeaconHealth clinics and to digitally integrate with the company’s diverse network of partner organisations.
Last year, MDaaS launched its first application, called Olewerk, for optimising diagnostic workflows, currently deployed across all of their 17 locations, and developed its first partner-facing application, Beam, which enables its corporate partners to seamlessly manage occupational health for their teams.
Speaking on the company’s technology strategy, CEO Oluwasoga Oni shared, "Years of operating within Nigeria's healthcare system have given us a deep understanding of its challenges and points of friction. At MDaaS Global, we're leveraging this experience to develop technology uniquely tailored to the African healthcare experience. BeaconOS isn't just about solving our own challenges; it's empowering our patients and partners with solutions customised to their needs and revolutionising healthcare delivery across Africa."
With this injection of capital, the company will develop new applications on the BeaconOS platform that solve critical issues in the healthcare system:
The need for improved diagnostics across Africa is critical. In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa estimated that only about 30% of health facilities in Africa have the necessary equipment to perform basic diagnostic tests, with marginalised and underserved populations being the most affected. Concurrently, the organisation identified the availability of and access to diagnostic and laboratory services as one of the key pillars to achieving universal health coverage.
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder & Managing Partner at Aruwa Capital Management stated, "We are thrilled to partner with MDaaS Global on their mission to revolutionise healthcare delivery in Africa. MDaaS' track record of consistent and impressive growth, as well as their dedication to bringing high-quality diagnostics to high-need patients, resonated deeply with us. As a gender-lens investor, we are especially excited to support a company that is driving change for women across Nigeria - over 60% of BeaconHealth patients are women, predominantly of reproductive age - and MDaaS shares our commitment to building gender-diverse teams."
Llew Claasen, Managing Partner at Newtown Partners shared, "At Newtown Partners, we invest in companies with the potential to make transformative changes in their industries, and MDaaS Global exemplifies this ethos. Since first investing in MDaaS in 2021, we have been continually impressed by their ability to grow in a challenging market, their insightful approach to technology development, and their ambitious vision for expanding healthcare access across Africa. We are excited to further support MDaaS in their journey and are confident in their ability to deliver value to patients and stakeholders alike."
Oluwasoga Oni concludes, "Expanding our network across Nigeria is about more than just growth; it's about democratising access to quality healthcare. With scale comes affordability, reach, and the ability to drive systemic change. At MDaaS Global, we're not just building clinics or software; we're building a healthier future for all Nigerians, and hopefully, all Africans."
