The Nigerian healthcare sector has been changing quickly in recent times. Thanks to healthtech innovators using technology to address different problems affecting our healthcare systems.
One of such startups is Gerocare.
Gerocare is an healthtech startup that provides subscription-based medical care for the elderly across Nigeria, allowing them regular medical care.
This is a welcome development for aged family members and relatives that are in need of special medical care. Especially because increasing urbanisation and globalisation has meant that we live far away from relatives, sometimes even out of the country.
This very often leaves senior citizens in the hands of hired caregivers or in some situations no one at all – and has been discovered to make them vulnerable to health problems like depression and heart disease.
This is where Gerocare comes in.
Founded in 2017 by Ebi Ofrey, Ajibola Meraiyebu and Bruce Lucas, the startup is pushing preventive healthcare for the elderly instead of waiting until something goes wrong. Using a subscription-based model, Gerocare is able to offer tailored visitations by doctors to administer medical care.
For most people the only time they get a report from their [elderly] parents is when something goes wrong. Gerocare was created to ensure people are able to receive regular updates about the welfare of their aged parents anytime.
Dr. Ebi Ofrey, Founder, Gerocare.
Using its website or mobile app, you are able to register and place a subscription plan for your older relatives. Once a subscription is placed, Gerocare is able to provide a personal health monitoring visit of about 1 hr to the elderly subscribed for, once a month.
They also provide drugs and lab test records and assigned doctors are available for calls and chat. You also get to receive real-time updates on how your parents are doing health-wise, emotionally and psychologically.
The startup renders other services such as the provision of ambulance services for transportation to hospitals, in situation of emergencies.
Subscription fees to these services are quite affordable. With as little as ₦6,300 (monthly), Gerocare provides these services for one elderly person. There are other subscription plans for 2, extra visitations as well as a year-long subscription.
Interestingly, Gerocare provides these same services to people in remote areas, although not with the same fee as that of cities.
The startup was one of top 3 finalists at Slush Global Impact Accelerator. It was also among the Top 30 WHO innovators in the WHO Africa Innovation Challenge.
Since its creation, Gerocare has raised about $20k in a seed funding round from Ventures Platform where it also mentorship.
Gerocare is already gaining traction gradually. The startup has over 750 users on the platform currently, with about 700 doctors and plans to expand to other African nations soon.
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