{"id":809983,"date":"2024-12-03T22:19:12","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T04:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/nigerian-healthtech-startup-mdaas-begins-francophone-expansion-with-cameroon\/"},"modified":"2024-12-03T22:19:12","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T04:19:12","slug":"nigerian-healthtech-startup-mdaas-begins-francophone-expansion-with-cameroon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/nigerian-healthtech-startup-mdaas-begins-francophone-expansion-with-cameroon\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian healthtech startup MDaaS begins Francophone expansion with Cameroon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MDaaS, a healthcare startup with 16 diagnostic clinics in Nigeria, has opened its first clinic in Cameroon, marking its entry into Francophone Africa. The move is part of the startup\u2019s strategy to mitigate exposure to Naira volatility and boost revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re scaling rapidly in Nigeria\u2014we did over 16,000 patient visits last month\u2014but we realised that we needed to diversify from a single country considering everything going on in Nigeria,\u201d said Oluwasoga Oni<\/a>, MDaaS CEO.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2017, MDaaS provides X-rays, ultrasounds, and fully automated lab tests at its network of clinics across Nigeria. It also partners with 20 affiliate clinics using its proprietary tech platform, extending its reach to 26 states. The startup claims profitability in Nigeria, where customers pay upfront for services.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s different about us is that we not only provide these services ourselves but we also install and handle everything, including the tech. Our tech is so good\u2014it\u2019s our secret sauce\u2014which means we can coordinate at scale,\u201d Oni said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MDaaS chose Douala, Cameroon\u2019s economic capital, as its entry point into Francophone Africa due to its bilingual environment (English and French) and strong demand for healthcare services. According to the World Health Organisation<\/a>, public services in Douala are limited, concentrated in the city centre, and largely provided by the private sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to Cameroon and visited other diagnostic centres and we noticed that the customer service culture could be improved. We observed that processes happened much slower\u2014for example, if you did a test, you had to physically return to collect your results. These are issues we\u2019ve already solved in Nigeria,\u201d Oni said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

MDaaS is among several Nigerian startups expanding abroad following a 70% depreciation of the Naira against the dollar due to recent economic reforms. Investors are increasingly urging cross-border expansion, particularly into Francophone West Africa<\/a>, where the Euro-pegged currency provides greater stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a tough time for venture-funded companies like ours [because] most people are not getting funded anymore. Right now, we\u2019re dominating Nigeria, but even so, I think the current landscape accelerated our Pan-African expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to its diagnostic services, MDaaS operates Sentinel, a B2B digital health platform focused on preventive care. However, the majority of its revenue\u201465%\u2014comes from B2C services, with 35% from B2B.<\/p>\n

\"MDaaS\"<\/figure>\n

It took the startup six years to develop tech that automates processes, reducing costs and allowing patients to complete an average of three to four tests per visit. MDaaS claims it has diagnosed over 360,000 patients, with over a third diagnosed just this year. \u201cIt\u2019s been our best year ever,\u201d Oni said, attributing much of this growth to Nigerian second-tier cities like Ibadan, Ilorin, and Akure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The startup, which raised $3 million in March 2024 from Nigerian VCs like Aruwa Capital and Ventures Platform,<\/a> only pursued expansion this year due to the capital and operations-intensive nature of building and managing its 16 diagnostic centres across Nigeria.<\/p>\n

MDaaS hopes to build and learn from its expansion into Douala as it begins to strengthen its foothold in the West African market.\u00a0 \u201cOur big motto is \u201cbuilding healthcare for Africa\u2019s next billion,\u201d so everything we\u2019re doing furthers that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MDaaS, a healthcare startup with 16 diagnostic clinics in Nigeria, has opened its first clinic in Cameroon, marking its entry into Francophone Africa. The move is part of the startup\u2019s strategy to mitigate exposure to Naira volatility and boost revenue. \u201cWe\u2019re scaling rapidly in Nigeria\u2014we did over 16,000 patient visits last month\u2014but we realised that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":809984,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100024,21999],"tags":[52758,14533],"class_list":{"0":"post-809983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthtech","8":"category-nigerian","9":"tag-healthtech","10":"tag-nigerian"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}