Tanzanian e-health startup Medikea has raised US$1.2 million in pre-seed funding as it opens two new clinics and targets a network of 10 facilities by the end of next year.
Founded in 2022, Medikea is a vertically integrated healthcare company that combines 24/7 virtual consultations with its own network of clinics, pharmacies and diagnostic labs. Rather than building software on top of existing providers, the startup runs its own facilities, employs a salaried clinical team and builds its technology in-house.
Alongside primary care, it offers specialist services including paediatrics, women’s health, dermatology, fertility and chronic disease clinics. Patients can start a consultation online at any hour, visit a clinic when an examination is needed, fill prescriptions at a Medikea pharmacy and follow up remotely, with a single record across the whole journey.
The US$1.2 million pre-seed round, raised through successive closes, was backed by Baobab Network, Catalyst Fund and develoPPP Ventures, and later joined by Madica, Impacc, Hustle Fund, O’Shaughnessy Ventures, Madiro, the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation and an angel investor.
“If you layer technology on top of a broken system, you are digitising inefficiency,” said Dr Elvis Silayo, co-founder and CEO of Medikea. “We rebuilt the parts we depend on, so that we can deliver a better experience at a lower price and still hold a fair margin.”
By owning the clinic, lab and pharmacy, Medikea earns across the full episode of care rather than just the consultation, which it says gives it a clear path to profitability as it scales. It focuses on outpatient care and refers patients to partner hospitals for surgery and advanced procedures.
Medikea serves both out-of-pocket patients and insured members, with partners including NHIF, Jubilee Insurance, Assemble Insurance and GA Insurance.
It has now opened new clinics in Arusha and Morogoro, taking its network to four, and plans to add six more over the next 12 months. The new funding will go towards growth, product development and new specialist services, with the startup aiming to serve more than 100,000 patients in the next year before expanding regionally.
“By combining clinics, diagnostics, pharmacy and virtual care, Elvis and the team are building a scalable model better equipped to serve communities facing growing climate-related health risks,” said Maxime Bayen, partner at Catalyst Fund.
