Egyptian e-health startup Vezeeta, which allows users to book doctor’s appointments via an online platform, has raised US$5 million in funding to expand across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Launched two years ago in Cairo, Vezeeta allows users to find and book appointments with over 2,000 doctors and is currently active in three Egyptian cities.
The US$5 million funding round, led by MENA-focused investment firm BECO Capital and also featuring Vostok New Ventures, TDF and Silicon Badia, will help Vezeeta expand across the MENA region to the likes of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Morocco over the next 12 to 18 months. It is estimated to be the largest funding round ever raised by an Egyptian tech startup.
“Vezeeta is solving major problems faced by patients when trying to connect with doctors. Finding a good doctor no longer requires asking parents and friends, nor does booking a doctor require you calling several times in an attempt to get an appointment,” said Amir Barsoum, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Vezeeta.
“Even the problem of long and tedious waiting room times is vastly reduced with our system. Our platform solves healthcare accessibility and quality problems in emerging markets through various next-gen digital cloud solutions that greatly benefit the healthcare industry at large. We have developed a product that is both simple and revolutionary and plan to expand into parts of the world in need for a more elegant and user-friendly way to access healthcare providers.”
Vezeeta is available on desktop and as a mobile app, and allows the user to choose a doctor by specialty, geographic area, insurance purveyor and fees. Once the doctor is chosen, the patient can either book automatically from the website or app, or contact the call centre.
“We are very excited with our investment in Vezeeta. Apart from it being our first investment into one of the largest healthcare markets in our region, Vezeeta’s team has demonstrated the ability to address an efficiency problem in health care delivery today and has the requisite vision, management and capabilities to provide the needed solutions for the Egyptian market going forward. We are proud to form part of a select investor base that will support the Company in its expansion plans across the region as well,” said Alvaro Abella, managing partner and co-founder of BECO Capital.
“BECO is a visionary investor who is after building transformative businesses in the region. They have the skills, knowledge and connections needed to help companies scale and expand during their first growth periods. We are extremely delighted to have them on board with us and looking forward to building together the regional digital healthcare platform.”
