Written by Jacques Coetzee | From ventureburn

Telemed Medical Services is an Ethiopian startup responsible for the country’s popular mobile health and medical consultancy service, Hello Doctor, and has recently announced it’s raised funds from US-based VC group The Africa Group (TAG). The Ethiopian engineering consultancy that, among other things, specialises in mobile health consulting is giving up a 25% stake of Telemed and plans to further address a crucial demand for health-related service delivery.

Together with BelCash Technology, Telemed released its flagship product, Hello Doctor, in 2012. It claims to have been the first and only service in Ethiopia where patients can call a short code number to access professional health services such as phone consultations, ambulance dispatch and homecare service.

With the recent equity provided by TAG and a grant from a USAID and DFID-backed development fund, the cash injection will be used to increase service capacity across Ethiopia, build a remote patient monitoring system, and facilitate a major marketing campaign.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Yohans Wodaje,  the founder of Telemed, stated, “Venture capital is a crucial source of financing for startup business like ours, having the potential of catapulting them to reach greater markets; our partnership with TAG is the perfect match, enabling us access to the appropriate amount of capital with the right kind of technical support.”

Read more at ventureburn