Telemed Medical Services (Telemed), an Ethiopian engineering consultancy specializing in health system design and implementation within the Ethiopian healthcare sector has today raised funding from The Africa Group (TAG), a US-based boutique advisor and venture capital investor.TAG will own a 25% stake in Telemed, which was founded in 2012 to reinforce limited health resources in Ethiopia, a country where the doctor-to-patient ratio is ~1:30,000 and 80% of the population lives over 5 kilometers from the nearest health center.
In a statement, Dr. Yohans Wodaje, Founder of Telemed said, “Telemed provides a critical service to the Ethiopian public and it is important to make all necessary investments to ensure the scale-up of this transformative endeavor. Venture capital is a crucial source of financing for start-up business like ours, having the potential of catapulting them to reach greater markets; our partnership with TAG is the perfect match, enabling us access to the appropriate amount of capital with the right kind of technical support.”
Telemed’s Hello Doctor, is the first and only facility in Ethiopia where patients can call a short code number to access professional health services that include phone consultations, ambulance dispatch and homecare service. With exclusive deals with BelCash Technology Solutions PLC and Ethiotelecom, Hello Doctor to be available to the masses.
The growth equity provided by TAG and a grant from a USAID and DFID-backed development fund will be used to increase service capacity across Ethiopia, build a remote patient monitoring system, and facilitate a major marketing campaign. In addition, TAG will provide technical assistance to buttress key areas including governance and compliance.
According to Elias Schulze, Managing Partner of The Africa Group, “The Africa Group is excited and honored to partner with Dr. Yohans on this brilliant model of private-sector led healthcare delivery. We view this engagement as just the beginning of our journey together and look forward to transforming and deepening our ability to touch greater swaths of the public both in Ethiopia and beyond. The team, led by Special Operations Associate, Tim Burkly, worked tirelessly with Dr. Yohans’ team to complete this unique transaction and we are positioned well to scale together.”