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Nigerian At-home Lab Testing Platform, Healthtracka Raises $1.5m Seed

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Nigerian At-home Lab Testing Platform, Healthtracka Raises $1.5m Seed  Healthtracka, a healthtech company in Lagos, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding to improve the quality of life by instigating prevention as a better option than cure. Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson launched the company with Victor Amusan in May 2021. And the news comes five months after its participation in the Techstars Toronto accelerator program last October.

Dare-Johnson worked several years in the healthcare space. At some point, she led marketing efforts at a diagnostic center. However, her interests in the field stemmed from a first-hand experience with the consequences of too few or no diagnostics.

The founder and CEO of Geltor told TechCrunch, “I started looking closely into the space when my dad had passed. We live in Africa, where healthcare infrastructure is poor. So we you would think that people would be more conscious about their health, knowing nobody will save them. But that’s unfortunately not the case.”

Millions of Africans are guilty of not going to the hospital regularly for appointments. It might be because they have to wait, or don’t want to go.

70% of everything that is diagnosed in an African hospital is through lab tests, but the problem with those lab tests is that they take a lot of time to carry out. The inconvenience of going to get your blood tested deters some patients from getting the medical help they need.

Healthtracka is a website where you can book your lab tests online and receive them in 48 hours. Some of the tests they offer are fertility and STD tests, body count, COVID, among others.

The company provides quality lab checklists.

Healthtracka works with doctors to review results and specialists for further consultation, but customers pay extra when Healthtracka connects them with specialists if the diagnosis is worrying. Patients still need to submit blood samples in the typical manner, but after that, phlebotomists input their trips on their phone and doctors review test results

Prior to its founding, Healthtracka had a network with only 20 phlebotomists, but it has since grown to 100. They’ve delivered over 7,000 tests at home, and the company is doing well financially.

The company is taking three approaches in order to pursue more growth and diversity. One strategy is launching a Marketplace, where users will be able to subscribe to its retail products. The second approach that the company is using is focusing on its B2B play and providing a full API for telehealth prescriptions which are available to different hospitals, pharmacies, and other companies. Lastly, the company is engaged in the process of spreading their presence beyond Nigerian borders into African countries like Kenya and Ghana by the end of 2017.

The chief executive said that our progress has moved from a B2C model to an infrastructure play. They want to use digital diagnostics to empower healthcare providers and reach customers where they are comfortable.

Healthtracka will use the funding to improve its at-home testing for employees in Nigeria.

This round raised investment from Africa-focused early stage VC Ingressive Capital and The Hustle Fund of the U.S. Investors include Alumni Angel Alliance and Flying Doctors.

Maya Horgan Famodu, the co-founder of Ingressive Capital, believes in HealthTracka’s potential. She says that they had a 10/10 experience and is excited to see the product across Africa. The product is high-quality, affordable, and on time.

Since the beginning of 2017, African healthtech startups have raised nearly $400 million. Only a few have female CEOs who have raised over $1 million in a single round.

Investors from Healthtracka are leading this change. Female-led venture rounds exist and prove female investors are walking the talk and making more capital for women founders.

 

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