The Cameroonian startup Waspito obtained an envelope of 2.5 million US dollars, or 1.5 billion CFA francs, thanks to fundraising from its investors after one year. The young company specializing in telemedicine services made this known in a tweet at the end of last week. “ Waspito raised $2.5 million in one year, bringing its seed round to $5.2 million. An important achievement for the technological ecosystem of French-speaking Africa. We particularly thank our investors & our dynamic team “. The operation was made possible thanks to DP World via Newtown Partners, Saviu Ventures, AAIC Investment, Axian Ventures and Health54 of CFAO, to stimulate its growth in the French-speaking Africa region. The startup established itself at the start of the year in Ivory Coast, where it is also piloting a hybrid model. She now has her sights set on Senegal and Gabon, supported by this new round of funding, after having collected 2.7 million dollars last year, or 1.6 billion CFA francs.
Waspito was founded by Jean Lobe Lobe in early 2020, shortly before the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic, which became a global health emergency. This period proved opportune for the startup, and served as a real field of experimentation in its mission to make healthcare accessible to all. However, Waspito sought to approach telemedicine differently. Instead of creating a platform that would involve pre-registration and booking consultation meetings, its creator opted for a platform where users could instantly connect with doctors.
« Going online to make an appointment later doesn’t tell you anything when someone is really seriously ill or someone who needs a doctor immediately. That’s why we do instant video consultations “, declared Lobe to the specialized site TechCrunch. When a user logs into the site that Lobe calls Facebook for Health Care, they are allowed to select a doctor from a list of those currently online. And when a doctor recommends medical tests, a technician from one of its partner laboratories is sent to collect samples. Waspito has integrated with some local hospitals to support patients requiring further examinations and/or admission.
« We have collaborated with hospitals so that after the consultation on Waspito, care continues in the nearest hospital without the need to pay for an additional consultation or registration. We have connected with all these stakeholders because overall we want to connect the e-health ecosystem and be a one-stop shop for all health services ” said Lobe. He is convinced that having doctors constantly online is one of the ways to make them accessible to patients domiciled in target countries, where the latest data shows that there are fewer than two doctors per 10,000 people. The startup, declared the best health startup in Africa at the VivaTech Awards this year, claims to have so far reached 650,000 users in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, to have onboarded 950 doctors and facilitated 60,000 consultations.
