Reliance Health has bundled both vital concepts so that users can get access to an integrated suite of healthcare products via subscriptions. Some of that healthcare is provided by Reliance Health directly — through its telemedicine platform, drug delivery system and two clinics based in Lagos, Nigeria. Others are via third-party provider partners: hospitals, diagnostic centres and pharmaceutical centres. Investment has also trickled down to Africa, with large checks going into growth-stage startups. Lagos- and Texas-based digital healthcare provider Reliance Health is the latest beneficiary and is doing so in grand style, raising $40 million. The Series B round is the largest of its kind in African health tech.
Reliance Health operates business-to-business and business-to-customers models. Reliance HMO is the company’s health insurance plan for both sets of customers where individuals can select monthly, quarterly, or yearly health plans ranging from ₦3,500 (~$7.00) to ₦148,500 (~$297.00). On the other hand, businesses can make subscriptions on behalf of their employees. With an app, these customers can chat with a doctor, find healthcare providers near them to visit or get medications from and manage the delivery of their drugs. Based on frequent usage, for instance, could suggest lifestyle changes if a customer was diagnosed with diabetes and make hospital referrals if a user spent hours on the line at his last visit to the clinic. The chief executive said Reliance Health plans to use a part of the funding to build two more clinic facilities in two Nigerian cities, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Reliance Health also intends to hire talent and scale new product lines, especially for Nigerians in the diaspora. The healthtech company will expand into new markets. Egypt is top of that list, with Reliance Health already hiring a country manager to launch by mid this year.