UGANDA – Health-focused fintech company, ClinicPesa, has won US$250,000 through the Swiss-Re Foundation competition – People’s Choice Award.

The company purposes to use the award grant to finance the lending pool, until it can raise alternative capital with a debt fund.

This will allow the company to ensure a smooth launch and enable it to accommodate the needs of the likely fast-growing pool of users. Another portion of the funds will go towards operations.

Founded in 2017, ClinicPesa is a financial technology company that increases low- and middle-income Ugandans’ access to medical care by offering tailored, flexible healthcare financing.

Presently, Uganda does not have a national healthcare insurance cover for its citizens, with less than 1% of people having health insurance, forcing citizens to go out of pocket to pay for their healthcare.

ClinicPesa thus leverages, offering flexible saving programs that leverage on mobile money infrastructure in addition to loan top-ups that enable access to high-quality healthcare services.

ClinicPesa is a portfolio company of Villgro Africa and has also received previous funding from GIZ, D-Labs, MIT, and FSDU totaling US$ 500,000.

As of April 2021, thanks to a partnership with MTN, the largest telecom company in Uganda, clinicPesa will be available to every owner of an MTN SIM card. This partnership also includes over 1,400 facilities of hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics.

ClinicPesa also has a maternal screening offering. And the company is working on a US$2 million syndicated round to boost business growth in Uganda.

The global fintech market was valued at about US$127.66 billion in 2018, and is expected to grow to US$309.98 billion at an annual growth rate of 24.8% through 2022. Growth in the digital payments sector is driving the market for global Financial Technology (Fintech).

Utilization of digital payment modes is growing rapidly, whereby hospitals and doctors have already started offering patients several digital payment options.

Healthcare spending is likely to reach US$6 trillion by 2027. While payers are ready to use new helpful technologies, providers are looking for innovative solutions that can make the payment process convenient for both and enhance the overall customer experience.

Fintech is expected to modernize and revitalize healthcare networks by bringing improved digitally oriented financial service models into the sector.

Fintech companies are using powerful technologies such as AI, blockchain, machine learning to fulfil the knowledge gaps and reduce or eliminate inefficiencies commonly found in most healthcare payment plans.

All these technologies, when implemented appropriately, will help monitor and maintain the flow of data and finances between providers and patients, saving lots of effort and precious time of people involved.

Fintech solutions (mobile-based financial services, medical loans/insurance, etc.) are capable of increasing the accessibility and affordability of medical care for people earning low to moderate-income.

Similarly, fintech solutions are simplifying payment processes for patients as well as providers by processing enormous quantities of healthcare data at faster speeds, and it is therefore, pleasing to see that Africa is not lagging behind.