Singaporean digital health startup Ordinary Folk has bagged $5 million in pre-Series A funding from Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Founded two years ago, Ordinary Folk runs two telehealth platforms: Noah, an online healthcare service dedicated to men, and Zoey, which focuses on women's sexual wellness, fertility, mental health and wellbeing.

WHAT IT'S FOR

According to a media release, Ordinary Folk will use its fresh funds to expand its business across Asia, starting in Singapore and Hong Kong. It also plans to hire more talent for its engineering, product, and design teams. 

It is also eyeing more B2B partnerships to offer Noah and Zoey telehealth services to corporate employees.

WHY IT MATTERS

"Millions of people across Asia find it difficult to access proper treatment and care for health conditions that have tremendous taboo attached," Peng T. Ong, co-founder and managing partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures, noted.

Ordinary Folk made it a mission to use technology to "simplify patient experience". With around 60% of the total health expenditure in Southeast Asia being out-of-pocket, founder Sean Low said there is a need for a "frictionless experience from discovery to delivery".

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Early this month, telecommunications firm China Mobile officially launched its mobile health app in Hong Kong. Developed with health tech company Heals Healthcare, the Dr. HK app offers both online and offline services, including access to electronic health records, online outpatient clinic appointments, video consultations, and medicine delivery.

Asia's digital health market is projected to grow to around $100 billion by 2025 from $37 billion in 2020, driven by the expanding consumer-centric digital health ecosystem in the region, according to a report by McKinsey & Co.