Nigerian e-health startup CribMD, which describes itself as “Uber for doctors”, has raised a US$2.6 million seed round as it looks to expand upon its initial traction.
Launched in June 2020, CribMD connects users with doctors for house calls and telemedicine services via its on-demand platform, allowing them to schedule appointments from the comfort and safety of their home, on their own schedule.
“We’re revolutionising each and every step of the care process, from affordability, patient-provider matching, to billing, to health record management. Through the touch of an app or a click on our site, an affordable, highly-vetted, qualified medical doctor will arrive at your door, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Ifeanyi Ossai, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of CribMD.
“The CribMD experience brings preventive, primary, and urgent care to a patient’s doorstep. We empower our medical teams to develop deep patient relationships through unhurried visits, comprehensive care, and immersion in the patient’s home environment.”
The startup raised a US$250,000 pre-seed round last year and has now added to that with a US$2.6 million seed funding round which it will use to build its team and further expand its network of partners in order to scale more quickly. The funding comes from the US accelerator Sputnik ATX and The Guardian Nigerian.
CribMD already has 2,800 subscribers, and another 50,000 on its waitlist. It has over 5,000 doctors on its platform and has monthly recurring revenues of US$75,000. It hopes to scale its operations via investment.
“Funds are being deployed to product management, hiring and marketing,” Ossai said. “We plan on expanding to other parts of Africa within the next two years.”
He is certain of the positive impact of the startup’s platform.
“Before CribMD, people in Nigeria queued up at clinics and hospitals, waiting all day to get care, and in most cases, they were not served the same day due to hospital or clinic capacity issues. Prior to CribMD, we ran five clinics under WeCare in Delta State Nigeria and were overwhelmed every day by demand,” said Ossai.
“The clinics simply cannot serve that many people and we could never build enough clinics to keep up with demand. That’s why we started CribMD. With CribMD, every home is a clinic and we don’t have to build it ourselves. Just like Airbnb – every home is a hotel and they didn’t have to build it themselves. With tech, we can now serve people in the comfort and safety of their own home.”
CribMD makes money through subscriptions, with clients paying a monthly, quarterly or annual fee.