Interswitch Expands Presence in Health-Tech Space Through Acquisition Of e-Clat
November 05, 2019
Lagos, Nigeria: October 30 2019:
Interswitch
Limited, a leading technology-driven company focused on the digitization of
payments in Nigeria and other African countries is pleased to announce the
acquisition of e-Clat Healthcare Limited, a Nigeria-based health technology
company that aims to improve healthcare delivery in Africa. The deal was
completed on September 30, 2019, and it involves Interswitch acquiring a 60%
stake in e-Clat through the purchase of shares from current shareholders and
subscription to new shares issued by the company.
Founded in
2012, e-Clat Healthcare Limited specializes in assisting healthcare service
providers in planning, designing and operating their unique practices through
the deployment of its bespoke healthcare technology platform, designed specifically
for the healthcare environment in Africa. e-Clat’s healthcare technology
platform, consists of a core e-Clinic software (including electronic billing,
immunization, ante-natal and care pathway functions), as well as a variety of
additional specialist modules. Prior to the acquisition, e-Clat’s platform had
become a leading Electronic Health Record (EHR) platform used in over 250
public and private healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s healthcare system currently lacks adequate funding and a national
framework, leading to operational inefficiencies. Interswitch’s strategic investment in healthcare technology aims to address these
challenges by modernising the healthcare sector in Nigeria and eventually in
Africa through its innovative products and services. The combined
product offerings of Interswitch and e-Clat are expected to, amongst other
things, enable operators in the healthcare sector develop new capabilities,
improve the efficiency of their core operations and facilitate seamless payments.
Due to the
growing adoption of Interswitch’s healthcare product offerings by the
operators, Interswitch’s healthcare technology platform aims to be one of the
top industry platforms in Nigeria, which can be utilised as a major data source
by healthcare policy makers for planning and efficiency improvements in the
sector. As a result of this acquisition,
the combined healthcare technology solutions are
expected to position the Interswitch group as a health-tech solution and
payments provider of choice to the healthcare industry going forward.
Commenting on
the transaction, Mitchell Elegbe, Founder and Group Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer of Interswitch, said:
“We are a
technology company that is innovating to deliver value across sectors that are
critical to Africa’s social and economic development, our acquisition of e-Clat
demonstrates strong progress along this strategy and alignment with our
corporate vision.
Healthcare
is rapidly evolving towards new, integrated and scalable models of care
delivery that put the consumer at the centre. At the core of Interswitch’s
expansion into healthcare is our ambition to provide customers with greater
access to healthcare across different interaction points beyond hospitals, such
as at pharmacies and primary health care facilities, providing much needed
services to patients across Nigeria and, in the future, in Africa. It also
represents an opportunity to introduce a number of Interswitch’s products, such
as our Verve Health cards, as well as our payment collection & disbursement
solutions (Quickteller for business), that will drive much needed efficiency in
payments for health services across the value chain”.
Also remarking on the acquisition, Dr. Wallace Ogufere co-founder/CEO of e-Clat
Healthcare Limited stated “The growing adoption of value-based care,
combined with the increasing level of usage of patient portals across the
industry, has made it critical to take a new approach to patient engagement
solution design in Nigeria. We expect to tightly integrate the e-Clat
capabilities into the Interswitch platform, adding functionality that would
enable providers to reach their entire patient populations by leveraging
existing patient contact information”.
This new acquisition by Interswitch represents the latest of several strategic
investments executed by the company to enhance Interswitch’s product and
service offering and expand its reach into new markets as the payments
technology sector in Africa expands rapidly. In 2016, Interswitch acquired the mobile
financial services player, VANSO. Interswitch had earlier closed the acquisition
of Paynet Group in February 2015 in a deal that resulted in the creation of a
combined network of over 100 financial institutions, deepening Interswitch’s
footprint in East Africa. Interswitch intends to continue with its expansion strategy
whilst refining its offering, creating innovative payments solutions that are
tailored to the demands of the African market. The acquisition of e-Clat
Healthcare Limited is expected to further enhance Interswitch’s capability to
provide comprehensive solutions that involve making payments a seamless part of
everyday life across critical social sectors in Africa.
Further information: Edelman Public Relations
Charles Harrison / Olivia Adebo +44 (0)203 047 2568 Interswitch@edelman.com
Interswitch Group
Tomi Ogunlesi
Group Marketing & Corporate Communications gmcc@interswitchgroup.com
+234 1 6283888 Ext 1253
Interswitch is a leading technology-driven company focused on the digitisation of payments in Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Interswitch also provides technology integration, advisory services, payment infrastructure and transaction processing across multiple channels to organisations across various sectors, including but not limited to: aviation, government, health, education, banking, retail, telecommunications, fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and small medium enterprises (SMEs).
Interswitch has demonstrated consistent, strong and profitable growth since the
business was founded in 2001 and is currently present in 4 countries across the
continent. Since its inception, Interswitch has grown to be a leading player
with critical mass in Nigeria and connects all commercial banks in Nigeria,
over 100 financial institutions, 180,000 active merchants, six international
payment schemes and its domestic payment scheme, Verve, to its payments network
(as at March 2019). This strong growth has further accelerated Interswitch’s
expansion strategies in Africa. Please visit www.interswitchgroup.com for more information.
eClat healthcare provides a turn-key solution for healthcare delivery. It’s
helping to
transform the quality of healthcare by providing modern, essential resource
tools to care providers, increasing their efficiency, saving costs, empowering
stakeholders and leading to improved patient outcome.
Its flagship product eClinic is used in more than 250 primary
care centres in Oyo, Delta and Edo states and general hospitals in Ondo,
Kaduna, Kano and Yobe states. It is also used in several private hospitals in
Nigeria including Eko Hospital, First Cardiology Consultants and Solid Rock Hospital.
Further information about eClat healthcare including a full client list can be
found at http://eclathealthcare.com/.
