Medwell Ventures plans to raise $15 million

On the back of a rise in demand for home visits by doctors to give specialised treatments, healthcare company Medwell Ventures expects two of its branches to break even this financial year.

Further, the healthcare venture plans to raise another round of venture funding in the range of $15-20 million, according to industry sources.

“We will raise more than our Series A funding, which was $10 million,” said Vishal Bali, Chairman, Medwell Ventures.

Medwell Ventures runs Nightingales Home Healthcare brand of services across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Bali’s confidence in raising funds stems from the fact that the category is starting to show early signs of success. Indonesia’s biggest start-up GO-JEK recently acquired Pianta, a Bangalore-based home healthcare services start-up for an undisclosed amount.

In 2015, Portea received $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 were involved in the funding.

Bali opines that with focus on chronic diseases such as diabetes, congestive heart failure increasing in metros, it is opening up opportunities for ventures such as his.

“It is not just about getting a doctor to come and relieve back pain but about devising a care plan for ailments such as Parkinsons or Alzheimer’s,” he says.

Nightingales even offers dentists on call. “Many stroke patients have dental needs but cannot move — how do you ensure oral hygiene amongst elderly people,” he says. The company then decided to offer non anaesthesia-related dental work at home.

All this has reflected in the company’s growth so far. Being a start-up it does not disclose revenues but said that it is growing 10 per cent every month in a market which is expected to touch $10 billion in the next three years.

The company has managed to run on a tight leash despite employing 900 personnel, majority of whom are certified doctors, nurses or therapists. Despite the lure of technology-focussed ventures, the company believes that in healthcare, not everything can be solved by machines. “Tech is an important enabler but the whole ecosystem needs to be powered by clinically equipped personnel,” says Bali.

In line with that philosophy, Nightingales has 11 branches in three cities, all of which are like clinics, offering physiotherapy services.

“None of this is more than 2,500 sq ft and is more like a DHL logistics hub wherein our care givers come and service the areas where they have been allotted,” he says.

When asked about the consistency of these care providers, Bali believes that the company follows a strategy of assigning a particular locality for a care giver. “Maintaining continuum and ensuring that they do not spend many hours travelling helps us to provide better service,” he says. On an average a care giver provides eight services in a day, from delivering IV fluid to a fever follow up.

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