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BYON8, a Swedish-based Digital Health startup is on a mission to put accessible and affordable healthcare into the hands of those that need it the most, BYON8 has raised a 1.5 M USD seed round to fuel its growth in Africa. The round was led by People Ventures, one of the leading Danish early-stage technology investors, with continued participation from current investors Jellyfish Invest, as well as new investor T&W Holding.
“With 4 bn people living around the world without access to basic healthcare, there is an incredible opportunity for a product like BYON8 to improve access to healthcare,” said Claus Zibrandtsen, Managing Partner at People Ventures. “We are incredibly excited to partner with BYON8 and support them on their mission to make healthcare a right, not a privilege”.
“Having People Ventures lead our Seed round is a great recognition of the work we have done so far and of the continued growth and momentum we are experiencing” said Josef Murad, MD, CEO and Co-Founder of BYON8. “This capital will be used to fuel our growth in emerging markets starting with Kenya.”
BYON8 has developed medical diagnostic software intended to improve people’s lives by building a foundation for the next generation of health care. The company’s software utilizes mathematical algorithms and medical artificial intelligence to transform patient data into calculated diagnosis propositions, thereby improving the healthcare process and customer experience regardless of their economic wealth.
- For people in emerging markets where access to healthcare is a challenge, using the BYON8 app on their mobile device means that they will be far better connected to medical advice and treatment when they need it.
- For medical professionals in emerging markets signing up for the BYON8 platform means that they will be able to help more people, who would otherwise find it hard if not impossible to get medical advice and treatment when they need it.
- All users have access to the BYON8 platforms that offers a rule-based diagnostic engine based on more than 3,5B patient cases and more than 100.000 rules. BYON8 is centered around two core offerings; First, a free symptom checker that allows users to enter their symptoms and understand what might be causing them. Second, the opportunity to schedule appointments with licensed Medical Doctors and get in touch through video or built-in chat.
BYON8 is the leading Digital Health app in Kenya measured in terms of both user base and customer satisfaction. Customers are turning to BYON8 for its great user experience, fair pricing, and the convenience of having instant access to high-quality doctors directly from the mobile phone. The company intends to fuel its growth through close and synergistic collaboration with strategic partners within, and in the periphery of, the healthcare ecosystem.
About BYON8
BYON8 was founded in the fall of 2015 in Sweden by a mix of doctors, mathematicians, and programmers. The goal is to make quality healthcare accessible, affordable, and convenient by digitizing primary care. The BYON8 app has been developed based on +4 years of medical research and development and launched in Kenya in early 2020. The company has offices in Stockholm, Sweden, and Nairobi, Kenya.
About People Ventures
People Ventures is a Danish operational Venture Capital firm located in Copenhagen, and one of the leading early-stage investors in the region. It is devoted to helping entrepreneurs succeed by investing both money and resources and has pioneered a new approach to early-stage investing based on massive operational power and a people-centric model that stands in contrast to the cutthroat world of investing.
They challenge existing paradigms of how things are done in the normal VC world. Their experience of actually being in the thick of the action day in, day out with Founders and their companies, actively pushes them towards their end game – wherever it might be – has taught them that it pays off. To be active. To be present. To be hands-on. To apply everything they know in every interaction, every task. Whatever it takes.
