Medici, a Vietnamese health-tech company, has secured an undisclosed amount in seed funding led by early-stage investor Insignia Ventures.
With the new investment, the startup aims to foray into the insurance industry. It allows the startup to act as a middleman between insurance firms and the general public, which will receive suggestions and guidance from the broker to make the right financial decisions.
In July, Medici received a 50-year insurance broker license from the government. Under this license, it intends to distribute a broad range of health and life insurance products.
Besides, it also supports customers with claims management and co-develops insurance products, leveraging the data and insights collected through existing services.
Medici has partnered with companies such as FWD, Bao Viet Insurance, PTI, PVI, VBI, and Bao Minh Insurance to co-launch insurance products.
“The introduction of insurance products and services brings us a step closer to becoming a full-stack platform that serves the healthcare needs of Vietnamese people through their families, neighbourhood communities, and even companies,” said Duc Anh Ngo, CEO and founder of Medici.
Also read: Bolstering healthtech: Thailand’s bid to become Asia’s medical hub
Medici was founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneur Ngo, a Fulbright MBA alumnus and former Grab executive, as a telemedicine service for mobile consultation with doctors in their network.
In the current form, it acts as an online marketplace that enables access and promotes transparency around drug and supplement purchases. Medici’s healthcare services ecosystem includes telemedicine, health screenings, and a marketplace for drugs and supplements. Its network also includes in-house doctor influencers in Vietnam.
Medici has also partnered with over 50 hospitals and clinics across the country, enabling it to provide health screenings for its users. The company has also expanded operations to 30+ provinces and cities in Vietnam, with 100,000 e-health profiles on its platform.
This medical network will be critical in the rollout of the startup’s insurance products and services as doctors, clinics, and hospitals can then assist customers in policy consulting and claims management.
It has also rolled out its services through more than 100 corporate partners, such as Shopee, Garena, and delivery company Giaohangtietkiem.
“Healthtech in an emerging market like Vietnam is a tough challenge,” said Yinglan Tan, founding managing partner of Insignia Ventures. “We believe Medici is in the right position to become the go-to digital platform for insurance and healthcare services in Vietnam.”
The firm claims to have 100 per cent quarter-on-quarter topline growth and 20 per cent monthly user growth.
According to World Bank, the Vietnam insurance market has low insurance penetration rates (premiums/GDP) at 2.4 per cent in 2018. Meanwhile, the insurance penetration rate in the Asia Pacific region is 5.9 per cent, as per a report from Ernst & Young.
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Image credit: Medici
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