Rwandan startup Viebeg offers medical equipment and products through an AI-powered, data-driven B2B platform that de-risks and optimises the procurement of medical equipment and supplies.
Founded in 2018, Viebeg has developed the online “VieProcure” platform, which offers a free, data-driven procurement solution for hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other healthcare providers.
“It enables a transparent and efficient procurement process, allowing healthcare providers to select from a diverse product range online, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual processes,” Tobias Reiter, the startup’s co-founder and CEO, told Disrupt Africa.
The platform is complemented by Viebeg’s Health Demand Simulation Model (HDSM). Based on demographic and public health data, the HDSM assesses the current availability of medical services and equipment in a specific region, and then compares it to the health demand in that region, to identify healthcare infrastructure gaps.
“Using predictive analytics, the model also forecasts the profitability of medical equipment and the credit score of each health care provider in a specific location. Based on this data health care facilities can make informed investment decisions, address specific diseases, and enhance the efficiency of the healthcare system,” said Reiter.
In addition to providing in-house equipment financing, Viebeg also partners with third party financing partners.
“For this purpose our credit scoring algorithm for equipment financing connects clients to financing partners, leveraging the HDSM for informed lending decisions,” said Reiter.
From Rwanda, Viebeg has expanded to Kenya and DRC, and is currently supplying more than 1,000 hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and healthcare providers with medical consumables, dental, laboratory and general hospital supplies and equipment. But why does it stand apart from its competitors?
“Unlike traditional local suppliers and middlemen, who just distribute medical products in-store without procurement optimisation, we supply medical products through our data-driven platform that makes procurement efficient, transparent and links suppliers and manufacturers directly to healthcare providers,” Reiter said.
“Our procurement platform and our HDSM enable our customers to take optimal procurement decisions and take care of every single aspect of the medical supply chain, from analysing the health demand and the resulting profitability of a specific health service or medical equipment, to shipping and storage, to payment with flexible payment terms, thereby de-risking supply in challenging environments and opening market access.”
The startup has raised more than US$4 million in equity and debt from VCs, impact investors and debt investors including J&J Foundation, Sanofi impact Fund, Founders Factory Africa, Global Ventures, Beyond Capital Ventures, and Norrsken, and has sold more than 400,000 medical products with an estimated reach to two million people.
“We are planning to expand to Uganda, Tanzania, and potentially Malawi in the coming 2-4 years,” said Reiter.
