East Ventures, an Indonesia-based sector-agnostic venture capital firm, has led Vietnam-based e-pharmacy startup Medigo’s $2 million Series A funding round with participation from Pavilion Capital and Touchstone Partners, per a statement on Monday.
DealStreetAsia had first reported the investment based on Medigo’s regulatory filings last week.
The statement noted that Medigo plans to use the investment to “strengthen its service and develop a healthcare ecosystem in Vietnam” by including remote doctor consultation and quick medicine delivery 24/7 within 20 minutes.
Touchstone Partners, an early-stage Vietnamese venture capital firm, had anchored Medigo’s $1-million seed round in 2021. Pavilion Capital is a Temasek-backed growth-stage venture investor.
East Ventures had announced last month that it plans to double down on the healthcare sector, with a special emphasis on genomics. According to its website, East Ventures has invested in at least 15 healthtech companies to date, including Nalagenetics and Nusantics.
“East Ventures’ investment is a powerful vote of confidence in Medigo’s vision, business model, and direction. We greatly appreciate the trust and commitment they and our other investors have placed in us and we look forward to working with them as we continue to scale up our business,” Medigo’s CEO and Co-founder Ha Le said.
According to Koh Wai Kit, a managing partner at East Ventures, the interest in Medigo’s digital technology and ecosystem came from the need to improve the accessibility and affordability of good quality healthcare. “We are excited by Medigo’s mission to revolutionalize pharmacies and healthcare services in Vietnam,” Kit said.
Medigo was launched in July 2019. The platform allows users to order medicine from pharmacies to be delivered within 20 minutes. It has partnered with over 200 medical institutions in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang.
In recent years, the demand for online healthcare in Vietnam is increasing, opening up many opportunities for local healthcare startups.
In March 2022, Vietnam-based telehealth startup Jio Health was reported to be raising a $20.5-million Series B round, while in April, Vietnam- and Hong Kong-based SaaS firm POC Pharma raised $10.3 million in Series A funding led by European VC firm Alven.
