KSUM-backed Healthcare Startup Bags $1.36m Funding from UAE Investors

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Healthcare startup ShopDoc, mentored by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), has secured $1.36 million seed funds from UAE-based investors at the four-day GITEX Future Stars 2021 expo that concluded in Dubai World Trade Centre last week.

A super-specialty hospital app for patient referrals and smart doctor deployment services, Kochi-based ShopDoc netted the fund of more than Rs 10 crore for its regional expansion in the Middle East.

The annual expo is the biggest startup event of Middle East, North Africa and South Asia together. ShopDoc was one of the 20 startups that were showcased at the expo by KSUM, the nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

ShopDoc also entered the semi-final of Supernova Challenge at GITEX in the Best International Startup category.Last month, the startup launched three patient care services in Dubai, specifically for the Indian diaspora across the Middle East.

Lauding the achievement of the firm, KSUM Chief Executive Officer John M. Thomas said it was an important recognition for the startup’s innovative application in the highly promising digital healthcare domain.

“GITEX expo was an ideal platform to showcase the strength and vibrancy of our ecosystem. All the 20 startups from Kerala could prove their mettle in this global platform, and ShopDoc has leveraged it quite well.”

Shihab Makaniyil, Founder and CEO of ShopDoc, said the firm has been getting overwhelming responses from Indian business communities, organizations, media and investors since expanding its services in Dubai.

“We’ll use the seed funds to set up an office in the UAE and build the region-specific integrated healthcare platform to accommodate local practitioners and healthcare providers to offer committed service to patients across the GCC,” Makaniyil added.

So far, the startup has acquired a subscription customer base of more than 200 hospitals, 3,575 doctors and 21 lab chains in its first-year of functioning in Kerala.

Startups from Kerala represented sectors ranging from logistics, fintech, robotics, and retail to enterprise, healthcare, and petroleum/oil and Gas GITEX. A total of 50 Indian startups participated in the expo, with Kerala’s being the largest contingent of 20 startups.