Kenyan e-health startup Afya Rekod has closed a US$2 million seed round to help it scale across the continent.
Launched in April 2020, Afya Rekod is a health data platform that allows both patients and health facilities to capture, store and access the mobility of the patients health data. The startup has over 150,000 users in five countries.
For providers, the platform has multiple functionalities, like hospital management, patient management, knowledge management and inventory management. For patients, the platform enables recording of health data and provides access to medical intervention. Additionally, it aggregates information on pharmacies and other key resources to allow easy accessibility.
The US$2 million seed round was led by US VC firm Mac Venture Capital, with other participants including Next Chymia. Afya Rekod founder John Kamara said the investment would help the startup scale into other African markets and accelerate the launch of its patient portal.
“This will give patients resources and tools to store and manage their health data, a critical function for patients with chronic illnesses, and their doctors,” Kamara said.
“For the past one and a half years, we’ve singularly focused on building a dynamic platform that streamlines health records with analytics and provides access to specialised clinics and experts. This delivers high quality healthcare in a way that is critical for this moment. We are very excited about this investment as it will help us grow in key markets in our journey to become the leading patient mobility focused health platform in the world. Our mission is to empower patients by giving them access to their health data and to connect with the health ecosystem including hospitals, pharmacies, insurance and beyond.”
Marlon Nichols, founding managing partner of MaC Venture Capital, said his firm admired Afya Rekod’s commitment to patient-centered health innovation, and how it addresses the gaps of current healthcare issues.
“The pandemic has pressed the fast-forward button, bringing an urgency into health data accessibility and analytics. This is a global problem that can be addressed by innovative private companies like Afya Rekod. We’re thrilled to partner with the team to tackle this challenging problem in healthcare,” he said.
