How this healthtech startup leveraging tech to reduce rural-urban healthcare divide

Indian healthcare ecosystem is witnessing exponential growth in the last two years. The Covid pandemic has put the emphasis back on healthcare sector after many flaws of Indian healthcare system got exposed during the pandemic period. Not only established healthcare providers, but also many healthtech startups have emerged with unique offerings to cash in this new demand. These startups are leveraging multiple technology-enabled solutions to provide healthcare services at an affordable cost. Especially, many such new age companies are betting big on diagnostics segment which has received prominence on the back of increasing awareness among people towards preventive healthcare. Bengaluru-headquartered RaphaCure is one such healthtech startup that leverages technology to provide affordable healthcare to people across India. In a conversation with the Bizz Buzz, company's Founder & CEO, Jeya Kumar said that the company strives to serve rural India through its affordable and quality healthcare services. To achieve this objective, it has tied up with various healthcare providers across many States to increase its reach. The company is also a leading wellness provider with tie-ups with several marquee Indian corporate houses. Going ahead, the company eyes one crore users on its platform by the end of current financial year. The boot-strapped firm, which is funding its growth through internal accruals so far, is also scouting for funds from prominent private equity funds in order to drive its next phase of growth. Jeya Kumar also said that despite rising competition in the Indian diagnostics space, Indian market remains under-penetrated so far and each player has scope to grow

What is the motivation behind launching the healthtech startup 'RaphaCure'? Do you have any unique offering that gives you a distinct advantage over competitors?

RaphaCure is a healthcare platform that is striving to serve the 'Bharat.' The key motivation behind building an entire healthcare ecosystem under RaphaCure is to take care of the healthcare needs of millions of people living in the hinterland of the country. This platform is built for the common man who can't afford the rising healthcare costs that are charged in corporate hospitals.

Rather, our goal is to create awareness among our customers, who still believe that grandma and mothers are the best doctors. They usually go to neighbourhood family physicians who are charging Rs 15 to 50 per consultation. We are adding those doctors to our panel on a priority basis. We are also adding branded chains of hospitals and doctors (who charge higher), to provide more options to choose from. Our cost for consultation, medicines and other diagnostics services is lower than other players.

Our entire healthcare ecosystem is built with contributions from frontline health workers, veterans, and medical and non-medical experts. We are aspiring to provide the best health care at the most affordable rate in the fastest possible time so that many precious lives can be saved in the remotest region of India. To achieve this objective, RaphaCure is leveraging technology to the hilt with greater contribution from digital technologies including AI, ML, IoT, and many more. As a result, we have filed multiple patents coming out of our innovation in the wellness space.

Moreover, the Covid pandemic had given all of us a rude awakening. Thousands lost their lives due to the non-availability of timely care and the exorbitant cost of medical care during the pandemic. This opened our eyes and we wanted to do something different. In our endeavour, we now provide a complete health care solution to patients ranging from allopathy to Ayurveda to Yoga to naturopathy that is accessible to all through a hybrid model of delivery that includes virtual, home, and care at the clinic. As pointed out earlier, we are leveraging technology to bridge the gap between access and delivery.

What is the current user base of RaphaCure? Are your services available across the country or limited to some geographies? What are your expectations as far as growth in subscribers is concerned going forward?

We have received an encouraging response so far from users across the country. Our user base currently stands at 25 lakh and we are confident of reaching one crore users by March 2023.

We have seen heathtech startups entering into partnerships to increase reach? Is RaphaCure following the same model? What are your plans in this regard?

Yes, we are collaborating with regional players and dominant healthcare providers in specific geographies for better coverage and reach among end users. Our recent collaboration includes Madhavbaug and Zeebon. Going ahead, we will explore this space aggressively.

Technology is the core of any healthtech start-up. How big is your technology team? Do you have technology collaboration with any company? Can you throw some light on this aspect?

As pointed out earlier, technology stands at the core of our healthcare delivery. From teleconsultation to remote patient monitoring, RaphaCure leverages cutting-edge technological innovations to provide better patient care. Pune-headquartered Cognota Healthcare is our technology partner that empowers all our initiatives in this regard.

Indian businesses are putting a lot of emphasis on employee wellness in recent years. The Covid pandemic has accelerated this trend. How is RaphaCure's corporate business vertical performing? What are your growth expectations going ahead?

Last year, the majority of our revenues came from the corporate side of the business. Given the traction, we are planning to increase revenue from B2B, B2C segments, domiciliary care, and mental wellness in the current year.

What is your overseas expansion plan? Are you adequately funded now? Are you planning to raise capital in the coming quarters?

We are planning to enter some Asian and African nations in the current year. Nigeria in the African continent and Indonesia among the Asian nation are on our radar.

As far as funding is concerned, we are bootstrapped till now. However, we are planning to raise capital from VC funds or investors who are aligned with our vision of providing affordable healthcare in 'Bharat'. The capital raised will fuel our expansion plan. Currently, our board comprises eminent personalities with leadership positions in their respective fields. With prominent leaders on board, RaphaCure is at the cusp of an exponential growth curve.

Indian diagnostics space is witnessing an intense price war with the advent of many new players. How do you view this competition? Can you throw some light on the aspect of profitability in RaphaCure?

I have enough respect for competitors and I believe that the Indian diagnostic market is so huge that all players have just scratched the surface. Just look into these numbers. India's diagnostic market size is pegged at Rs 40,000 crore with one lakh pathology providers in India. However, more than 90 per cent of these labs still operate in unorganised segment.

Therefore, we believe that RaphaCure has a huge role to play in bridging the healthcare gaps seen in tier-II & III cities as these are not adequately covered by larger players. To tap this unorganised market, we have started building a franchise model. In the first phase, we have onboarded closely 270 labs and two hospitals from the Madhavbaug chain of Ayurveda clinics across India. We are planning to go aggressive in tapping this model in the coming months.