ImpactAlpha, July 26 – Kenya-based Zuri has a mobile app to help patients connect with doctors and local healthcare services. It also offers SMS messaging for “the over 65% of the population without access to smartphones or the internet,” the company says.
The woman-led company, which calls itself a “virtual hospital,” launched in Kenya amid the pandemic in 2020. Zuri has expanded its services to eight other African countries.
Five35 Ventures invested an undisclosed amount of capital in Zuri. The South Africa-based gender lens investment firm likes how Zuri is “leveraging technology for low-cost ways to access otherwise inaccessible health platforms,” Five35’s Hema Vallabh told ImpactAlpha. “They’re like an Uber for healthcare.”
The deal follows Zuri’s pre-seed financing last year.
Pharmaceutical giant Bayer announced that it is partnering with Zuri to “provide 100 million women in low- and middle-income countries with modern contraception yearly by 2030.” Zuri was among Bayer Foundation’s 2022 Women Empowerment Award winners.
