To transform health care in Bangladesh, health-tech startup Praava is looking to raise $15 million in series B funding, to further tap into the demand for locally trusted and quality health care.
"We are raising $15M and are excited to welcome international and local investors alike on our journey to provide world-class healthcare to as many patients as possible in Bangladesh, and beyond," said Praava Health's Founder and CEO Sylvana Q Sinha.
According to investor reports, over $2.2 billion in health care spending goes outside of the country each year.
“Bangladesh is the eighth-most populous country in the world, but citizens are flocking outside for medical treatments,” Sylvana Sinha, Praava’s founder told the media.
Praava’s investor report further shows that locally there’s no primary and coordinated care, no insurance, unreliable outsourced diagnostics, perverse incentives for providers, and limited technology, among other issues.
Another industry association report in 2020 showed the large prevalence of adulterated and counterfeit medicine sales which accounts for 20% of all drug sales in Bangladesh.
According to the health-tech founder, a lot of people get into health care because of financial opportunity and the market is not holding providers to quality standards, so people are travelling in the thousands every day for health services, even for primary care.
Although there is tremendous demand for trusted, quality health care in Bangladesh, the government has limited capacity to regulate the industry, according to Sylvana Sinha.
In providing trusted quality health care, Praava integrated the “Brick and Click” model which helps it operate both online and offline mode which its founder says provides a one-stop solution. Its CEO, Sylvana Q Sinha described the model to Axios as "One Medical plus Quest Diagnostics plus PillPack under one roof."
It also has an in-house diagnostics operation and a pharmacy business as well as an app through which it provides telemedicine, e-pharmacy, remote chronic care management, and home sample collections.
"By owning the entire outpatient experience with high-quality in-clinic and virtual/remote healthcare services, we are able to provide a full suite of services for our patients, keeping them healthy and out of the hospital. Our fast growth and high patient retention rates in our early years of operations have been heartening and inspiring - we believe we are just getting started," she said.
The health-tech startup charges patients a flat rate for unlimited access to all care, which includes both primary and multi-speciality care.
With Bangladesh’s current state of health care, Sinha believes in building a company that owns a supply chain that has always been crucial to ensuring quality and emphasizes focusing on “building camels, not unicorns.”
This in return also drives up margins, with lab tests, in-clinic check-ups, and imaging as those were the top three contributors to its 60% plus blended gross margin, as per the 2021 investor report.
Praava’s lab is one of five internationally accredited labs in Bangladesh and is the startup’s largest and most profitable segment.
To date, the start-up has more than 350,000 patients, with more than 1,100 corporate clients and 450-plus employees and generated $8 million in revenue in 2021 and was EBITDA profitable. The company aims to reach one million patients by 2024.
Earlier in March 2021, the start-up collected $10.6 million in series A funding from SBK Tech Ventures; David Howell Petraeus, chairman of the KKR Global Institute; Rushika Fernandopoulle, co-founder of Lora Health; and Geoff Price, co-founder of Oak Street Health, and others.
According to Praava, another capital infusion would be used to expand both Praava’s physical clinic and pharmacy, as well as drive digital expansion as it aims to provide service to one million patients by 2024.
Although the investment opportunity is huge, the challenge for Praava is that Bangladesh remains uncharted territory for health care and health tech investors.