Nigerian healthtech startup, Helium Health has announced its acquisition of Meddy, a doctor booking platform in Qatar. As part of the deal, Meddy’s CEO Haris Aghadi and COO Abed Alkarim Khattab will join Helium Health’s leadership team. In addition, Meddy will now be known as Helium Doc.
Partnerships between West African startups and Middle Eastern startups are rare. However, Adegoke Olubusi, Helium Health’s CEO reveals that the cultural similarity of the two teams was key in the deal.
“Beyond the actual product and market opportunity, what made this possible was really the composition of the team, how well they executed the fact that they share a DNA and culture that’s very similar to ours,” he explains.
Founded by Olubusi, Dimeji Sofowora, and Tito Ovia, Helium Health provides a suite of services for its healthcare clients. These services include an electronic medical records solution, HeliumPay, a billing and payment solution, a collateral-free loan product, HeliumCredit, and HeliumDoc.
Since its inception, the company has established a presence in six African countries helping over 5,000 health professionals to serve about 165,000 patients monthly. This year, Helium Health has already expanded to Kenya.
At the time of its Series A raise in 2020, it hinted at plans to expand into East and North Africa.
While it has not yet expanded into North Africa, its foray into the Middle East presents it with an opportunity to tap into Meddy’s reach in the region.
The startup has reportedly facilitated over 200,000 doctor appointments and helped healthcare providers generate approximately $130 million in billings.
