Cape Town - A South African investment holdings company focused on bringing innovative technologies to the African medical industry through its investment has announced its successful partnership with an Irish-based fund and family office.
It said the partnership between the Irish and Innov8 Group Holdings, has resulted in the company externally valued in excess of R250 million, with initial seed investors reaping a 60% return on a partial exit as well as a significant capital appreciation.
“The performance is testimony of the company's skill and ability to manage the allocation of funds as well as strategic and operational input to underlying businesses yielding top line growth accompanied by strong cash returns,” co-founder Abdul Malick Salie said.
The founders of Innov8 Group Holdings, Dr Chad Marthinussen, and Salie boast almost three decades of experience in the corporate finance and investment space, as well as healthcare and technology industries.
The pair are both dynamic entrepreneurs who bring a unique combination of entrepreneurial and financial expertise to the table.
Marthinussen, a qualified medical doctor, brings a deep understanding of the healthcare industry in which the company operates, evident by the development of all concepts for underlying businesses.
Salie, a chartered accountant, brings extensive corporate finance experience and further boosts a strong track record in managing the allocation of funds and providing strategic and operational input to underlying businesses.
“One of our key objectives is developing the real usable datasets and data infrastructure from our medical imaging, primary care, virtual care and biotechnology products and services, allowing our technology and AI teams based both locally and internationally to harness the information, creating enhanced and innovative solutions for the medical market,” Marthinussen said.
The company is also focused on expanding its asset base with plans to offer local partners, investors and institutions the opportunity to share in its journey.
“The investment roadmap is defined and we will continue to grow our assets organically, through acquisitions and with strategic partnerships. One such partnership has recently been concluded with a pharmaceutical and medical device group for our ultrasound platform.
“This partnership sees significant base revenues being generated, and along with our latest capital partnership, we are empowered to execute our planned roadmap,” Salie said.
According to the group, the healthcare technology and biotechnology industry in Africa has a vast and untapped market with a rapidly growing population and an increase in demand for access to quality healthcare.
“The continent's population is projected to reach 1.7 billion by 2050, and with the current infrastructure and resources, it is challenging to meet the growing demand for healthcare services.
“This presents a significant opportunity for investment in healthcare technology and biotechnology, as new and innovative solutions are needed to address the continent's healthcare challenges,” Marthinussen said.
He said the Innov8 Group Holdings is a parent company of several subsidiaries which includes Innohealth Technologies, a healthcare holding company strategically led and controlled by the duo which then controls several subsidiaries that operate in various verticals of the healthcare industry.
“MyPocketHealth is a virtual care platform developed internally by Innohealth that offers telemedicine and virtual care to the masses, Innohealth Clinics is a rapidly expanding digital-first doctor-lead, affordable primary care company.
“U-Image Africa is a South African-developed wireless ultrasound ecosystem focused on making POCUS (point-of-care ultrasound) accessible to all healthcare providers, AI Biologics Africa is an AI biotechnology platform focused on streamlining the IVD and vaccine development industry.
“Social Medical is a healthcare marketing agency that oversees all the entities in the group and offers services to other industry players, Innov8 Property, is a healthcare-focused property company,” Marthinussen said.
He expressed the importance of the subsidiaries as part of the group’s strategy to provide a comprehensive range of services and solutions to the healthcare industry in Africa.
IOL