Most African health startups put software on top of clinics someone else runs. Medikea, founded in Tanzania in 2022, went the other way. It combines 24/7 online consultations with its own clinics, pharmacies and diagnostic labs, and it has now raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding to build more of them, according to Disrupt Africa.
Baobab Network, Catalyst Fund and develoPPP Ventures led the early closes. Later backers include Madica, Impacc, Hustle Fund, O'Shaughnessy Ventures, Madiro, the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation and an angel investor.
Why own the clinic
Co-founder and chief executive Dr Elvis Silayo argues that adding technology to a broken system only ends up "digitising inefficiency". So Medikea runs its own facilities, employs a salaried clinical team and builds its technology in-house. A patient can start online, visit a clinic for an examination, collect a prescription from a Medikea pharmacy and follow up remotely, all on one shared record.
Owning the clinic, the lab and the pharmacy means it earns across the whole visit, not just the consultation, which the company says gives it a clear route to profitability. It sticks to outpatient care, from paediatrics and women's health to fertility and chronic disease, and refers surgery to partner hospitals. Patients can pay themselves or use insurers including NHIF, Jubilee, Assemble and GA Insurance.
What the money is for
- Medikea recently opened clinics in Arusha and Morogoro, taking its network to four.
- It plans six more over the next 12 months and is aiming for 10 facilities by the end of next year.
- The target is more than 100,000 patients within a year, before expanding into the region.
- Funds also go to product development and new specialist services.
Catalyst Fund partner Maxime Bayen said the combined model suits communities facing rising climate-related health risks. Running physical clinics costs more than running an app, which is exactly the bet: that owning the care, not just the booking, is what makes the numbers work.
