Ailaaj, a digital health platform offering personalised patient care services in Pakistan, has raised $1.6 million in a seed round led by local financial services conglomerate ​​JS Group of business tycoon Jahangir Siddiqui. The funding round also drew the participation of Leonine Tech Ventures and East Asian private equity investors.

WHAT IT DOES

The health startup operates a vertically integrated primary care platform that provides a unified offering consisting of diagnosis, medicine delivery, corporate health and wellness services and ongoing care. Employing a "health care concierge" approach, the company delivers a "personalised comprehensive patient experience" modelled after international healthcare systems.

Ailaaj was formed following the acquisition and merger of telehealth startup AugmentCare and e-pharmacy portal Sehat.com.pk, both of which were incubated by one of Pakistan's biggest healthcare groups, Fazal Din Group. The healthcare firm has also backed the digital health startup's recent seed round.

WHY IT MATTERS

In a press statement, Ailaaj said it is tapping into Pakistan's $4 billion pharmaceutical market while it looks to expand into the baby and beauty products market through social commerce. Along with doctor consultations and lab testing, the company is eyeing a total addressable market valued at approximately $20 billion.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

This year a number of digital health startups in Pakistani attracted investor funding. Last month, Marham closed a seed round where it raised $1 million from Indus Valley Capital. Launched in 2015, the digital health platform offers online doctor consultations, lab test booking and medicine ordering through its mobile app and web portal. With its fresh funds, the company aims to introduce more services and expand into smaller cities around Pakistan. 

Another Pakistani startup, Dawaai, netted $8.5 million in a funding round led by US-based 500 Startups. The web and mobile app-based health platform runs a digital pharmacy and provides other online services such as teleconsultation, nursing, physiotherapy and at-home lab testing.

ON THE RECORD

"I moved back to Pakistan with the realisation that the current system in the country creates an imbalanced relationship between patients and healthcare providers. There is a lot of confusion around how people can find the best care that they need.  With Ailaaj, everything we build is centred around giving back control to our customers through highly personalised care services; an end-to-end solution that addresses all patient needs on one platform while connecting them to healthcare experts and the products they need for better care," Ailaaj Founder Hyder Mumtaz said.