Gates Foundation, global insurers back Indonesia's Halodoc

Allianz Group and Prudential – which use Halodoc’s services as part of their insurance coverage of Indonesia – also took part in the round. It takes the total capital raised by the company to nearly $100 million, following a $65 million Series B in March and a $10 million Series A in 2016. Allianz is participating through Allianz X, its digital investment unit.

Halodoc offers a mobile app and website that allow customers across Indonesia to have live consultations with doctors, arrange pharmacy deliveries to 50 cities, and order lab tests that can be carried out at home. Working with a network of 22,000 doctors and 1,000 pharmacies, it serves around seven million patients a month, of which 80% reside outside the main cities of Jakarta and Surabaya.

The company's growth is largely attributed to the geographic realities of the target market. Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest country with some 260 million people, but the population is spread out across 17,000 islands, resulting in especially poor access to reliable healthcare.

“Halodoc is successfully driving the digital transformation of the Indonesian healthcare industry through its holistic approach to the patient journey and strong strategic partners like Allianz and Go-Jek,” said Carsten Middendorf, an investment director with Allianz X. “This investment highlights our commitment to transformative businesses in emerging markets and delivering affordable insurance to underserved communities.”

Halodoc was established by Jonathan Sudharta as an offshoot of Mensa Group, an integrated pharmaceutical products provider founded by his father. Leveraging decades-old ties the company had on the distribution side, he signed up more than 18,000 doctors. It then teamed up with Go-Jek to launch drug delivery services before establishing the online consultation platform.

Go-Jek and Blibli, an e-commerce platform controlled by local tobacco giant Djarum Group, participated in the Series A, which was led by Clermont Group, a Singapore-based private investment firm led by billionaire Richard Chandler. Go-Jek also referred the deal to one of its investors, Openspace Ventures.

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) led the Series B through its direct equities arm UOB Venture Management. Other new investors in the round included Singtel Innov8, Korea Investment Partners and WuXi AppTec. Several existing backers also re-upped.

Halodoc is said to represent the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s first investment in an online healthcare platform. The foundation has a strategic investment fund that makes direct equity and fund investments and also makes loans and credit enhancements. 

Portfolio companies in India include dairy supply chain solutions company Stellapps and agriculture technology provider CropIn Technology. The fund is also an investor in Just Biotherapeutics, a US-based drug developer that has a sizeable presence in China.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Healthcare
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Indonesia
• TMT
• Openspace Ventures
• UOB Venture Management
• Allianz
• Prudential Financial