Healthcare startup Medikabazaar has raised USD 75 million (about Rs 550 crore) in Series C investment round from domestic PE firm Creaegis Principals, UK’s CDC Group and existing investors, making it the largest funding in the B2B health space in the country.
Existing investors who participated in the current round include Belgium-based Ackermans & van Haaren, Healthquad Advisors, Japan-based Rebright Partners, Continental Europe-based Kois Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. While Creaegis Principals is a new private equity firm based in Bengaluru, CDC Group is the official developmental finance institution of the British government.
Medikabazaar claims to be the largest online B2B healthcare platform for medical supplies in the country and was founded in 2015 by Vivek Tiwari and Ketan Malkan. Creaegis, the CDC Group and existing investors have pumped USD 75 million into our business, Medikabazaar said on Thursday without offering a breakup. This investment is the highest-ever funding into the domestic B2B health-tech space, and the money will be used to strengthen our digital capabilities, deepen the supply ecosystem and distribution channels, apart from bolstering our capacity to provide medical supplies across diverse regions, Vivek Tiwari, chief executive of Medikabazaar, told PTI.
He said this will also help them augment international operations, especially across the MENA and Southeast Asian markets. Tiwari said the investment will help them further streamline the medical supply chain, resulting in improved availability of a wide assortment of medical supplies, transparent pricing and ensuring lower procurement costs for small healthcare providers serving local communities. Currently, about 50 per cent of Medikabazaar’s sale is from smaller hospitals and nursing homes, and around 60 per cent of its customers are in non-metros, he said.
Welcoming the new investors Creaegis and the CDC Group, Tiwari said the new funding has also seen our existing investors extending their trust in us, as we continue on our rapid growth path in transforming the state of the health-infra industry. The funds will also enable them to enhance international operations and deepen the presence in the domestic B2B health tech industry, he said, adding that he is hopeful of closing this year with a 300 per cent revenue spike.
Prakash Parthasarathy, the managing partner at Creaegis, said Medikabazaar has pioneered a unique digital supply chain platform to scale hospitals and clinics across the country. Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner said, this investment into Medikabazaar will help improve healthcare quality and increase access to a wider range of medical supplies through its innovative platform.
Srini Nagarajan, CDC’s South Asia head said access to quality and affordable healthcare is a key component for improved development outcomes in any country, and our partnership with Medikabazaar comes at a critical juncture when collaboration is urgently needed to address the healthcare needs. Beyond the investment, CDC is also prepared to devote its sector expertise to support Medikabazaar in scaling its operation across to deliver a greater variety of essential medical supplies at an affordable cost to more customers.
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