Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, and Austin, Texas, Reliance Health began operations in Nigeria in 2015 as a telemedicine-focused startup, Kangpe, founded by Femi Kuti, Opeyemi Olumekun, and Matthew Mayaki. After operating the company for a year, they switched to Reliance after learning how early the market was and the systemic follow-up gaps and processes that were present.
Founded in 2016, Reliance Health uses technology to make healthcare accessible and affordable. Reliance Health provides cutting-edge healthcare solutions that address the demands of growing countries with an integrated strategy that includes inexpensive health insurance, telemedicine, and a combination of partner and own healthcare facilities.
Today, the Nigerian e-health startup is already one of Nigeria’s leading digital health providers, supporting individuals and organizations. For a fixed monthly or annual fee, Reliance Health offers comprehensive health coverage through a 24/7 telemedicine platform that allows for medication pickup and delivery, a proprietary network of clinics, or an extensive network of almost 2,000 partner healthcare facilities.
With the Reliance app, customers can chat with a doctor, find healthcare providers around them, get medications, and manage the delivery of their drugs.
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Reliance Health Funding
In 2022, Reliance Health raised $40 million in the largest Series B round by an African health-tech start-up. The round was led by General Atlantic with participation from Partech, Picus Capital, Tencent Exploration, Asia Africa Investment and Consulting, P1 Ventures, Laerdal Million Lives Fund, Arvantis Social Foundation Impact Investment, and M3, Inc.
The partnership marked General Atlantic’s first technology investment in Africa. To date, Reliance Health has raised $48M in total funding, including a $6M (R93 365 100,00) Series A funding round in January 2020 led by Partech, with participation from Y Combinator, LoftyInc Capital, Golden Palm Investments, Picus Capital, and Ventures Platform.
Growth
Over 200,000 individuals in total from both models use Reliance Health. The platform currently serves over 600 business customers including Biersdorf Nivea, Jumia, and PwC, while maintaining an attributable intention rate of 99%, according to Femi Kuti.
Since its launch in 2016, Reliance Health has averaged 3.5x YOY revenue growth which makes it more attractive to investors. Having garnered 200,000 end users in Nigeria since 2016, Reliance Health is expanding to African countries. In October 2022, Reliance Health announced its expansion into Egypt, operating in this market as Reliance Health Egypt (RHE). That same year, they launched Reliance Family Clinics Port-Harcourt and Abuja.
Reliance has impacted over 200,000 lives, 600 companies, and has risen to become one of the leading digital health providers in emerging markets. The company employs over 230 “Rhomans”, has been recognized on “Jobberman’s 2019 Top 100 Companies in Nigeria” list, and was shortlisted on Techpoint Africa’s “Most Outstanding HealthTech Startup 2021” list.
