• UAE-based healthtech Okadoc, has finished the first close of its pre-series B funding round at $10 million, led by IGan Partners, new and existing investors including Basim Ibrahim Hayel Saeed Group, Club 49, Alesayi Group, Bupa Arabia, Bunat Ventures, ADQ, and Now Invest.
• Founded in 2018 by Fodhil Benturquia, Okadoc allows patients to book virtual and in-person healthcare appointments, as well as providing a home healthcare platform and a cloud pharmacy.
• The funding round will fuel Okadoc’s expansion in the home healthcare market and cloud pharmacy across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Press release:

Okadoc, the one-stop-shop patient engagement platform, today announces the first close of its pre-series B funding round at $10 million. The investment aims to fuel Okadoc’s expansion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to offer a hybrid healthcare model of delivery.

Led by IGan Partners, new and previous investors now include Basim Ibrahim Hayel Saeed Group, Club 49, Alesayi Group, Bupa Arabia, IGan Partners, Bunat Ventures, ADQ, and Now Invest.

In addition to Okadoc’s capabilities to allow patients to book virtual and in-person healthcare appointments in 30 seconds or less, Okadoc will now introduce home healthcare and cloud pharmacy as part of its strategy to improve the healthcare experience for all and in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals. 

Okadoc has already acquired a number of pharmacies in the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, with more in the works.

“Our goal at Okadoc has always been simple: to improve the healthcare experience for all, and this expansion into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will do just that. We are grateful for our community of investors to help us achieve our mission and prepare us for our next stage of growth,” says Fodhil Benturquia, Okadoc CEO and Founder.

Between January and September 2022, 3.3% of the total appointments booked were for video consultations, an increase from 1.7% the previous year. Home healthcare services have also increased at a growing rate, becoming 0.6% of total appointments. 

“Witnessing these trends, we believe that 30% of healthcare will be provided in a decentralized manner by 2033, where patients will regularly book enhanced health appointments from homes such as physio, lab tests and infusions. This funding round will allow Okadoc to offer a hybrid delivery care model, ensuring that patients get the care they need whenever and wherever they are ” said Dr Taher. 

“The health tech space is growing at a rapid pace, and we are incredibly excited to be a part of Okadoc’s continued expansion. It’s this type of game-changing technology that healthcare needs to take it to the next level,” said Khaled Zainalabedin, Founder and Managing Partner of Bunat Ventures, who co-led the funding round. 

Okadoc growth in Saudi Arabia 

Available on a white-labelled basis across the Kingdom, Okadoc is the region’s only instant doctor platform that is directly integrated into 38 healthcare information systems (EHR/HIS), including EPIC, 

Intersystems, Oasis and more. This means that patients can view real-time doctor availabilities, instantly book appointments in 30 seconds or less, receive reminders, reschedule, cancel or even request reminders for earlier availability.  

By integrating directly with healthcare providers’ EHR, Okadoc significantly reduces clinic no-shows and increases appointment fill rates due to its ability to connect directly with the patient. Since January 2022, providers were able to benefit from Okadoc’s technology by witnessing a 50-75% reducing in no-shows while managing over 4.2 million appointments. 

This integration allows patients to manage their appointments 24/7, with user adoption more than doubling since January 2022. Because of a streamlined approach to healthcare bookings, Okadoc saw a 202% increase in appointment bookings from June 2021 to January 2022. 

The top five specialities booked via Okadoc across the Kingdom include dentistry, dermatology, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology and paediatrics. 

In September 2021, Okadoc entered into a strategic partnership with Bupa Arabia with the goal of enhancing the customer experience and elevating the level of Bupa’s digital healthcare services. The strategic partnership, which was recently further solidified through an equity investment in Okadoc, represents a key milestone in the MENA region, in general, and Saudi Arabia, in particular. 

Bupa Arabia’s equity investment in Okadoc was a unique occasion to strengthen the Company’s relationship with its members and provide them with innovative digital services that are engaging, interactive and accessible.

Through the partnership with Okadoc, Bupa Arabia’s insured members have instant access to doctors through Bupa’s Tebtom program across more than 60 specialities, including some of the Kingdom’s largest hospital groups. Once logging in to the mobile app, patients can view in-network doctors, including the ability to search for doctors by name, clinic name, speciality, language spoken, gender, country of education, and location.

Okadoc is the first and only healthtech platform to achieve the prestigious ISO/ IEC 27001: 2013 (ISMS) certification in the Middle East, and won “Best in KLAS” for Virtual Care Platforms in the Middle East and Africa.

Okadoc’s white-label solution is trusted by some of the region’s leading healthcare groups and insurers, including Bupa, Daman, Mediclinic, Medcare, Emirates Hospital, MedNet, UE Medical, Novomed, Valiant Clinic & Hospital and Dubai Healthcare City.