South African e-health startup Healthcent has secured funding from Umkhathi Wethu Ventures and Allan Gray in order to further roll out its products to medical practitioners.
Founded three years ago and angel-funded until now, Healthcent is the company behind mobile messaging system Signapps, which facilitates collaboration and rapid response to patient needs by medical providers.
A mobile-first, cloud-based messaging and collaboration platform, Signapps is already being used by 30 customers comprising public and private hospitals and hospital groups, practices, associations and funders of care. There are over 2,000 users registered on the platform.
Healthcent has now raised an undisclosed round of funding from Umkhathi Wethu Ventures, in partnership with Allan Gray, to expand its reach into the wider South African healthcare sector and further develop the capabilities of the product.
“Collaborative healthcare delivery is a new buzzword internationally, and the investment by Umkhathi Wethu, together with Allan Gray, is a vote of confidence in our vision for Signapps and traction of the Signapps product in South Africa,” said Andrew Davies, chief executive officer (CEO) of Healthcent.
“Our purpose is to transform how patients are cared for in South Africa. Our objective with Signapps is to be the simplest, most effective, care coordination platform for people and organisations in the healthcare ecosystem, and to ensure that the patient remains firmly at the centre of the treatment universe.”
Rob Dower, director of Allan Gray, said his company’s internal ventures team was looking to fund the development of new businesses that can make a significant difference to society.
“Healthcent is the first company in South Africa to offer a secure mobile messaging application designed specifically for the healthcare sector. This allows medical professionals to avoid the inaccuracies, delays and risks of paper-based record systems, without resorting to social networks to coordinate care, which are inappropriate for many reasons,” he said.
