Clafiya, an African health-tech company, has today announced its $610,000 pre-seed raise.
The oversubscribed round saw participation from Norrsken Accelerator, Acquired Wisdom Fund (AWF), Hustle Fund, Voltron Capital, Microtraction, Ajim Capital, HoaQ, Bold Angel Fund, Shivdasani Family, and other angel investors.
The company will use the capital injection to accelerate growth, invest in product development and hire new tech talents. This funding announcement follows Clafiya’s admission into the 2022 Google Black Founders Fund.
Clafiya is led by Jennie Nwokoye (CEO), a Nigerian who moved back from the US to tackle this problem with her training as a Systems Engineer (MSc.) from Georgetown University and experience working in the US public and private sector, at companies like Deloitte and AWS.
By The Numbers
Affordable access to quality primary healthcare is a challenge in Africa. More than half of the continent’s 1.2 billion people can’t access healthcare.
Businesses and the diaspora are one of the biggest contributors to Nigeria’s economy—combined they account for more than 50% of the nation’s GDP.
In 2022, SMEs contributed 48% of national GDP while the diaspora accounted for 4% of the GDP.
Why This Matters
Clafiya is tapping into this segment by offering products that allow members of the diaspora to purchase healthcare plans for their loved ones in Nigeria, instead of directly giving their families money for healthcare—which could end up getting diverted to other pressing needs.
Background
“As part of my childhood, in Nigeria, I witnessed firsthand the challenges of healthcare in the country with some of my family members coming in close contact with death due to inefficiencies in the local care system,” says Jennie Nwokoye (CEO.
“I wanted to do something about it, but I didn’t want to become a medical doctor. So, when I travelled to the US, I studied Biomedical sciences, as an undergraduate. It was until my Master’s at Georgetown that I was able to put a pin on how to leverage systems thinking to tackle the healthcare problem of access, quality and payment on the continent.”
About Clafiya
In 2021, Clafiya launched as an on-demand digital platform that connected Nigerians, in need of medical attention, to vetted primary healthcare providers—who could bring the care services to their homes.
Yet, access is only one of the problems that the company set out to solve. Payment is also an issue. Eleven million Africans fall into poverty because of high out-of-pocket payment.
The two-year-old startup makes money from the services they provide to customers (individuals and businesses) and shared profit from its operational partners and HMO.
With these, the startup has been able to grow its revenue by 15% month-on-month while increasing its patient’s life expectancy by a similar margin.
The company has partnered with numerous reputable organisations like Hygeia, i-Fitness, Khairo Diet Clinic, Blueroomcare, Pharmarun, and Famasi Africa.
What They’re Saying
Speaking on Microtraction’s early investment in Clafiya, Dayo Koleowo, a Partner at Microtraction said, “Clafiya’s mission to provide seamless access to primary healthcare for Africans and the approach to tackling the existing underperforming alternatives was interesting to us at Microtraction.
“We are excited to see Clafiya raise this funding,” says Google’s Startup Fund Manager, Olufemi Omoniyi. “And are inspired by the team’s commitment to using technology to address a pressing need in Africa. As part of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund 2022 cohort, Clafiya demonstrated immense potential and dedication in addressing the healthcare challenges faced by individuals and businesses.
Co-founder and General Partner, Hustle Fund, Elizabeth Yin says, “We are excited to partner with Clafiya in their mission to change healthcare delivery in Africa. Right now, patients see increasing costs and long wait times at hospitals. And there are more than 500 million people in Africa who still can’t afford quality healthcare.
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