Investors update: June 5 2023 - Helium Health gets $30m to power healthcare financing in Africa
3 min Read June 5, 2023 at 12:03 PM UTC
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Helium Health gets $30m to power healthcare financing in Africa
Highlights
- Helium Health, a Nigerian healthtech startup, has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round to expand the reach of its fintech product, HeliumCredit.
- The company provides software-as-a-service tools, financing, and insights for healthcare providers and public health organizations.
- With its latest round of funding, Helium Health has raised a combined amount of $42.12 million, after a $10 million Series A round in 2020. More so, the funding follows a deal involving the UAE-based healthcare provider-patient interaction platform Meddy.
Source: TechCabal
Our Takeaway
Africa’s healthcare sector is heavily undercapitalized, with a financing deficit of $66 billion per year. Healthcare funding disbursed by African governments declined by 8% over the last 15 years and 57% of private health facilities in Nigeria never access external funding sources. These highlight the challenges Helium is looking to address via its Credit product, which it claims has given over $3.5 million in loans to over 200 healthcare facilities and plans to roll out in Kenya this year.
Afreximbank partners Fiducia to boost supply chain finance
Highlights
- The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the supply chain financing company, Fiducia, have entered into a deal to promote factoring across the continent and help reduce the supply chain finance gap.
- Afreximbank will provide Fiducia with additional liquidity for trade facilitation through factoring on the latter’s marketplace while also exploring collaboration opportunities with Fiducia and Access Corporation for payables financing across African markets.
- SMEs contribute the majority of economic output and employment generation in Africa. Greater access to bank financing will, therefore, enhance the growth of this vital segment.
Source: ABC
Our Takeaway
Across Africa, there is a clear supply chain finance gap for SMEs that is not being met by traditional banking institutions and other lending services companies. As such, businesses miss out on significant business opportunities without the requisite capital to support their transactions. Fiducia’s business is yet another example in Africa’s alternative lending market focused on SMEs, which is gathering momentum thanks to the emergence of financial technology (fintech) on the continent.
Oil prices rise on Saudi Arabia-led OPEC+ production cuts
Highlights
- Oil advanced at the week’s open after Saudi Arabia pledged to shave an extra 1 million barrel-a-day from its production in July.
- International benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $77.89 a barrel at 9:50 a.m. London time, up 2.3%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures stood at $73.50, over 2.4% higher.
- The cut takes output to the lowest level in years in an effort to stabilize the market, with the Kingdom promising to do “whatever is necessary to bring stability to this market” following an OPEC+ meeting over the weekend.
Source: Bloomberg
Our Takeaway
OPEC+ pumps approximately 40% of the world’s crude and policy decisions can have a significant impact on prices. On April 3, several producers of the oil cartel revealed a combined 1.66 million barrels per day of production declines until the end of this year. And many market watchers, including analysts at Goldman Sachs, had expected the alliance to keep output unchanged this time around. Higher oil prices are crucial for a host of major African countries, such as Nigeria and Angola, whose economies are reliant on energy exports.
This material has been presented for informational and educational purposes only. The views expressed in the articles above are generalized and may not be appropriate for all investors. The information contained in this article should not be construed as, and may not be used in connection with, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or hold, an interest in any security or investment product. There is no guarantee that past performance will recur or result in a positive outcome. Carefully consider your financial situation, including investment objective, time horizon, risk tolerance, and fees prior to making any investment decisions. No level of diversification or asset allocation can ensure profits or guarantee against losses. Articles do not reflect the views of DABA ADVISORS LLC and do not provide investment advice to Daba’s clients. Daba is not engaged in rendering tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult a qualified professional for this type of service.
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