Cameroonian healthtech Waspito gets $2.5M seed extension to scale, tap offline patients
Summary
Cameroonian health startup Waspito has secured a $2.5 million seed extension from DP World through Newtown Partners, Saviu Ventures, AAIC Investment, Axian Ventures and CFAOs Health54 to spur its growth in the Francophone region.Waspito is a health-focused social network that allows users (patients) to access and consult with verified doctors over video calls. Additionally, it facilitates sample collection from homes and the delivery of medication.The startup branched out into Ivory Coast at the start of the year, where it is also piloting a hybrid model, and has its eyes on Senegal and Gabon, backed by a new round after last years $2.7 million seed.Jean Lobe Lobe founded Waspito at the start of 2020, just before the COVID pandemic became a global health emergency, a timely period for the health startup to kickstart its mission of making healthcare accessible to all.However, Waspito sought to approach telemedicine differently. Users also get to anonymously join various disease support groups for tailored advice.Lobe is convinced that constantly having doctors online is one of the ways of making them accessible to patients domiciled in target countries, where the latest data shows there are fewer than two doctors for every 10,000 people.The startup, declared best health startup in Africa during this years VivaTech awards, claims to have so far reached 650,000 users in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, has on-boarded 950 doctors and facilitated 60,000 consultations.Waspito anticipates that the number of consultations done via its platform will grow as it rolls out a hybrid model it is piloting in Ivory Coast where it has set-up mini-clinics to reach offline patients. The startup is establishing these clinics within the branch network of La Poste Corporation, the national postal service in Ivory Coast, which has a wide coverage across the country. With the help of nurses manning these sites, patients will be able to connect with doctors virtually and access other healthcare services by its partners.This is a necessary strategy for Waspito as a majority of users in Africa remain offline, due to the cost of internet and smartphones, even as Africas digital economy continues to expand.