It was announced on Monday that Helium Health, the largest provider of electronic medical records in West Africa, has raised $30 million in new funding to scale up operations and expand credit in Africa’s healthcare sector.
The Series B funding round was co-led by investment managers AXA IM Alts, with participation from Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, and U.S.-based Flatworld Partners. The Nigerian startup also received funding from the Chinese investor Tencent.
In partnership with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Helium plans to increase its lending portfolio to 1,000 healthcare facilities by 2024, when it will begin providing credit to the Kenyan healthcare sector.
Africa’s healthcare sector has one of the lowest health worker-to-patient ratios in the world and is severely underfunded. At 1.55 health workers per 1000 people, it falls below the World Health Organization’s recommended threshold of 4.45 health workers per 1000 people.
Adegoke Olubusi, CEO and co-founder of Helium Health, stated, “We envision a future where good healthcare is accessible to all Africans, not just a select few.”
