Kuwait’s Sihaty raises $1.3 million to expand its online healthcare platform

Kuwait-based healthtech Sihaty has received $1.3 million in a pre-Series A round from Rasameel Investments, The Taken Seat Fund, Doha Tech Angels, alongside a number of leading regional angel programs, it told MENAbytes today. 

Sihaty was founded The Taken Seat, a regional venture builder, in 2019. The platform enables users in Kuwait and Saudi to consult doctors online. The doctors can use Sihaty’s products to speak to patients, save their medical records and history, and prescribe medicines, which are delivered to patients in 24 hours. The mobile app of the Kuwaiti startup has received over 200,000 downloads since its launch in 2020.  

The startup also aims to fill the gap in quality primary care services and care coordination critical to good health.

“For too long, our nations have focused on a sick care model. This is expensive, fragmented, low-yield, and it completely ignores the healthy majority. As a result, we have not paid enough attention to primary care and prevention, the priority interventions for health systems,” said Dr. Nadeem Alduaij, co-founder and CEO of Sihaty in a statement. He added, “Despite our obsession with building bigger and better hospitals, our region holds the alarming record of having the fastest growing chronic disease mortality rate in the world. A paradigm shift is long overdue and we already know what the solutions are. Technology has the power to scale and enhance their impact.”

With the help of the latest funds, Sihaty will be introducing the feature of having an assigned family doctor for all its users to help families manage chronic conditions effortlessly. Sihaty will also create a service for mental health conditions, particularly because mental health issues continue to be stigmatized and undermined in the region. Aside from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the team hopes to expand this platform across the Gulf region.

Marwan Mahmoud, co-founder at DTA, said, “Doha Tech Angels is excited to be part of Sihaty as an investor. We see great potential in Sihaty and in the vision of the founders. As an angel investment group from Qatar, we look for meaningful investment opportunities in health tech that address important regional challenges.”

Dakhil Al Dakhil, EVP for Alternative Investments at Rasameel Investments, said, “The Taken Seat founders are making a reputation for themselves as serial entrepreneurs. They manage to leverage their expertise and put together a world-class team capable of exceeding expectations in their go-to-market strategy. And that is precisely what we are experiencing them doing with Sihaty.”

With the COVID-19 health crisis, people have been taking more measures than ever to ensure that they are in good health. Digital healthcare platforms like Sihaty make access to healthcare easier than ever, enabling people to maintain and improve their current health.

They offer much more flexibility and comfort compared to the hassle of having to find a good doctor and spend hours in the waiting room anticipating an appointment. Such platforms are particularly beneficial for those with chronic conditions who are in need of regular check-ups, medication, and tests.