Saudi HealthTech start-up Clinicy raises funds for expansion

Investment by private equity firm Mad'a will help company come up with more innovative ways to cut administrative costs in health care

The Riyadh skyline. Clinicy did not disclose the amount raised but said the 'seven-figure' investment is among the largest pre-series funding rounds in the country's HealthTech sector this year. Getty

Saudi health technology start-up Clinicy has raised funding from Riyadh-based private equity company Mad’a Investment to fuel its expansion across the kingdom.

The company did not disclose the amount of funds raised but said the “seven-figure” investment is among the largest pre-series or early stage growth funding rounds in the country's HealthTech sector this year.

“This investment will allow us to scale the number of medical institutions and patients using Clinicy and further support … [Saudi Arabia’s] healthcare sector,” Clinicy co-founder and managing director Talal Waleed Al-Hussein said on Sunday.

“Our expansion will help [us] … reach a larger segment of customers and focus on creating enhanced experiences and benefits for users.”

Start-ups in the Mena region secured $659 million in funding in the first half of 2021, an annual increase of 35 per cent, according to data platform Magnitt.

Saudi start-ups raised $168m in venture capital funding from 54 deals in the first half of this year, the report said.

About 75 per cent of investors that backed start-ups in the Arab world's biggest economy during the first half were based within the country, Magnitt data showed.

Founded in 2017, Clinicy provides cloud-based integrated technology models to boost efficiency and raise the quality of healthcare services in the country.

Clinicy identified missed appointments, high administrative costs and a lack of communication with patients as three core issues facing Saudi Arabia's healthcare industry.

The average local market's “no-show” rate of patients to attend appointments is more than 30 per cent, costing more than 2.2 billion Saudi riyals ($600m) annually, the HealthTech start-up said. That percentage rate has not changed in two decades.

“In line with Vision 2030 goals to improve the quality and efficiency of the health sector, Clinicy has demonstrated a valuable proposition, which has the power to transform and enhance healthcare services across the entire region,” said Abdullah Al-Othaim, chief executive of Mad’a.

Improving the healthcare sector in partnership with the private sector investors is a key plank of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme that seeks to diversify the kingdom's economy and reduce its reliance on oil.

The healthcare sector, especially HealthTech ventures, has garnered the attention of investors amid the pandemic as focus shifts to efficient and innovative patient care solutions.

“As we have all seen over the past year during the pandemic, health care is one of the most important sectors for society,” said Mr Al-Othaim.

“This investment adds to our commitment in supporting businesses that create jobs through innovation.”