African health-tech startup, Clafiya has closed a $610,000 pre-seed round which will help it accelerate its growth, finance product development, and hire tech talent. Norrsken Accelerator, Acquired Wisdom Fund (AWF), Hustle Fund, Voltron Capital, Microtraction, Ajim Capital, and a few other investors partook in the round.
Founded by Jennie Nwokoye, a systems engineer with experience at Deloitte and AWS, Clafiya intends to widen access to affordable healthcare services in Africa. Despite its vast resources, the continent suffers from a shortage of healthcare personnel, limited equipment, and other difficulties. According to a 2021 study, 52% of Africa’s population can’t access basic healthcare.
In a press release shared with Technext, Nwokoye recounts her experience with the lapses in Nigeria’s healthcare sector. She shared how some of her relatives died due to inefficiencies in the country’s primary healthcare segment. Years of neglect by all levels of government have rendered Nigeria’s primary healthcare system ill-equipped to serve patients.
Seeing a longstanding problem, she said:
“I wanted to do something about it, but I didn’t want to become a medical doctor.” And so she proceeded to study Biomedical Sciences for her undergraduate degree. During her Master’s program at Georgetown University, the idea of how to utilize system thinking to solve the healthcare crisis (access, quality, and payment) emerged.
Clafiya’s road to better patient care
Upon its establishment in 2021, the startup operated as a bridge between clients and recognized primary healthcare personnel. It’s worth noting that the startup did follow the same route as the telemedicine platforms in Nigeria.
“When we started, we were focused on improving the convenience of healthcare by connecting people to vetted healthcare practitioners,” Nwokoye said.
Subsequently, the startup chose to create a virtual primary healthcare centre that would collaborate with pharmacies, mental healthcare professionals, and other related parties to improve care for customers. The goal is to achieve an “end-to-end healthcare experience.”
To tackle the affordability issue in healthcare access, Clafiya made a significant business move by enabling people in the diaspora to buy healthcare plans for their relatives in Nigeria. By paying for the plans themselves, the startup eliminates the chance of relatives using money given to them for medication to tackle other pressing needs.
Clafiya now has a wallet feature that companies can leverage to open healthcare savings accounts for employees. This product is intended to rival the existing HMO model. Nwokoye explained that funds in the Clafiya wallet can’t expire and can only be exhausted when used. The startup also rewards users with cashback perks upon a successful deposit. Hygeia, i-Fitness, Khairo Diet Clinic, and some other companies have jumped on this bandwagon.
Read also: Telehealth in Africa is fascinating, but here’s why it’s not ready for widespread adoption
What the investors think
For Dayo Koleowo, a Partner at Microtraction, Clafiya had a strong investment appeal due to its goal of improving healthcare and its methods of doing so. “We wasted no time in being their first institutional investor because we were simply impressed by the team’s experience, their go-to-market strategy and the huge market opportunity identified,” he added.
Elizabeth Yin, General Partner at Hustle Fund, said it chose to back Clafiya mainly because of the founder’s system engineering background. Yin strongly believes Nwokoye’s previous experience with Deloitte and AWS will equip the startup with the necessary expertise to achieve its goal.
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