South African diabetes health and insurtech startup Guidepost has raised an undisclosed amount of further funding to help it increase its impact.
A technology platform that enables highly personalised, data-driven diabetes management at scale, Guidepost allows patients to better manage their illness, and during its six years of operation has achieved a 45 per cent reduction in diabetes complications across more than 8,000 patients.
The startup, which also allows insurers to significantly better manage their diabetes risk, raised funding from Rand Merchant Investments (RMI) through AlphaCode in November of last year, and has now secured additional funding from the same company as well as from investment fund Endeavor.
Having grown rapidly into a national network serving health insurers, life insurers and pharmaceutical companies, Guidepost is now poised for further expansion as it looks to build on recent growth.
“COVID-19 is far more serious for people with chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension,” said Professor David Segal, chief medical officer and co-founder of Guidepost. “As the risks related to chronic conditions are now more ‘real’, people are more aware of the risks and are taking the management of their chronic conditions seriously. They are looking to digital healthcare services such as telemedicine as safe, effective and efficient ways of managing their conditions.”
Dominique Collett, senior investment executive at RMI and head of AlphaCode, said her company believed in the work being done by Guidepost and would continually invest in the technical tools that are enabling a technologically advanced future for South Africa.
“Guidepost has demonstrated its ability to reduce claims costs for clients and improve the lives of thousands of diabetics and we’re excited to support the growth and development of their services locally and internationally through this second-round investment. We also believe that the skilled leadership team could roll out this methodology for other diseases and chronic conditions,” she said.
Managing director at Endeavor South Africa Alison Collier said her firm supported high-impact entrepreneurs that are scaling their business rapidly, and looking to grow to be the market leader in South Africa and expanding internationally.
“Guidepost’s service is particularly relevant given the COVID-19 crisis – offering diabetic patients improved healthcare while simultaneously reducing the total care cost for these patients as patients using Guidepost are healthier,” she said.
