Ghanaian healthtech startup Redbird has secured $1.5 million seed funding from two investors to drive its expansion and to break into new markets.
The investors are the Johnson & Johnson Foundation and Newtown Partners working through Imperial Venture Fund.
Redbird is an innovative African tech healthtech startup that enables patients across Africa to easily manage their health through five-minute medical tests available at community pharmacies.
They have an app that merges technology with health and enables patients to access their health records digitally.
Redbird said in a statement the funding will be used to expand its business model, operations and to enter new markets, while working alongside the investors.
Co-founder and CEO of Redbird, Patrick Beattie said “We’re thrilled to work with Johnson & Johnson, Impact Ventures and Newtown Partners. Newtown and Imperial’s expertise in African supply chains, coupled with Johnson & Johnson’s long-standing commitment to improving care for the most vulnerable populations through technology, create strong support for our vision of revolutionizing health monitoring.”
Managing Partner of Newtown Partners, Llew Claasen, commenting on the investment made into the healthtech, said “We’re excited about Redbird’s decentralized business model that enables rapid diagnostic testing at the point of primary care in local community pharmacies.”
He noted that Redbird’s digital health record platform has the potential to drive significant value to the broader healthcare value chain and is a vital step toward improving healthcare outcomes in Africa.
“We look forward to supporting the team as they prove out their business model and scale across the African continent,” Claasen said.
Redbird was founded in 2018. It runs a decentralized business model that ensures that healthcare is available to all individuals in Africa, no matter which country they are in.
Redbird offers access to medical testing for chronic diseases, enabling patients in Ghana to receive an accurate diagnosis and how to manage and track their possible chronic illnesses such as diabetes.
The company partners some 340 pharmacies in Ghana where individuals can access medical testing and register for the service.
Currently, Redbird offers 10 different rapid tests available for individuals. The results are kept private and saved to individuals’ personal Redbird health records on the app. Working hand-in-hand with medical professionals, doctors are provided the results, with the consent of users, to provide a complete picture of a patient’s medical health history.
