BANGALORE, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Portea Medical, India’s leading home healthcare company, today announced that it has received US$37.5 million in Series B funding led by Accel. International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group; Qualcomm Ventures and Ventureast also participated in this round.
Portea will use the latest investment to fuel the company’s expansion in India where it currently operates across 24 cities and handles 60,000 visits in a month to patients’ homes. It will also utilize the funding to grow in other markets elsewhere in the region including in Malaysia where it already provides services in four cities.
Portea has more than 3,000 staff and plans to recruit an additional 5,000 employees over the next 18 months in line with the company’s growth plans across the region.
“This investment from marquee investors recognizes the rapid strides Portea has made as well as points to our prospects as we build the company into India’s leading consumer healthcare brand in the coming years,” said Meena Ganesh, MD & CEO of Portea.
Arun Mathew from Accel, the investment firm that led investment in other Indian startups like Flipkart, BookMyShow, FreshDesk and others, joins Portea’s Board of Directors.
“There is a tremendous need to offer an in-home healthcare option for millions of people in India and other emerging markets,” said Mathew. “Portea’s service actually improves health outcomes for patients because it combines highly trained physicians/nurses and technology, making the healthcare process more efficient and accessible.”
Pravan Malhotra, IFC’s venture capital lead for South and Southeast Asia, said, “IFC’s venture team invests in early growth companies that offer innovative technologies or business models. Portea’s model of providing affordable and quality care for patients in their homes ensures that hospital infrastructure and beds can be utilized for more critical medical cases and procedures. Our investment in the company will also help them create jobs and a skilled workforce, thus creating opportunity in tier two and tier three cities in India. This is our third venture capital healthcare investment in India and part of IFC's strategic approach to improve access to quality health services in Asia.”
Portea focuses on general primary health care, post-hospitalization care, chronic disease management and allied services such as diagnostics and medical equipment on hire thereby bringing the entire gamut of healthcare services to a patient’s doorstep. The company works with hospitals, insurance companies and individuals to improve health outcomes by providing a continuity of care in the home setting through doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and nursing attendants employed by Portea. The company has 40+ hospitals as partners, and a network of referring physicians all over India.
Portea had previously received $US 9 million Series A funding from Accel, Qualcomm Ventures and Ventureast in December 2013.
