South African digital healthcare marketplace startup, RecoMed, has secured a significant investment from Japanese pharmaceutical giant Eisai, marking a pivotal step in its expansion journey. Although the exact figure remains undisclosed, this funding round is RecoMed’s largest to date, surpassing the US$1.45 million raised from the Vunani Fintech Fund in 2021.
RecoMed operates a cutting-edge online healthcare marketplace and booking platform that effortlessly links patients with a wide array of healthcare practitioners in their vicinity, utilizing devices like phones, tablets, or PCs. This platform not only simplifies the appointment booking process for patients but also assists healthcare providers in managing and increasing patient bookings through various channels, including web searches, medical aids, and life insurers. Currently facilitating over 250,000 unique patient visits and confirming more than 100,000 bookings monthly, RecoMed has rapidly become a go-to platform for over 3,000 healthcare providers, boasting a 150% revenue increase in 2023.
This recent influx of funds from Eisai will be directed towards transforming RecoMed into the premier digital platform for connecting patients with care, particularly focusing on breast cancer—a pressing concern exacerbated by COVID-19-related screening delays. This initiative underscores both companies’ commitment to leveraging digital solutions to enhance access to healthcare and improve patient outcomes across various diseases, with an immediate focus on breast cancer.
Sheraan Amod, RecoMed’s founder and CEO, highlighted the synergy between RecoMed’s vision and Eisai’s recognition of digital platforms’ potential to facilitate easier access to healthcare services. This collaboration aims to enhance the platform’s technology, boost its visibility, and fortify the digital healthcare journey for patients, prioritizing the improvement of the patient treatment journey and outcomes.
Shin Ujiie, Vice President for Corporate Strategy at Eisai, expressed the company’s alignment with RecoMed’s mission to simplify healthcare access. He praised RecoMed as a leader in digital health services, emphasizing the startup’s innovative approach as instrumental in advancing Eisai’s objective of streamlining the patient journey through digital innovation. Together, RecoMed and Eisai aspire to make healthcare more accessible, prioritizing health as an easily attainable goal for everyone.
