Dr. Saira Siddique, the first solo female founder of a Pakistani startup, has raised $1.8 million in pre-seed capital for medIQ, a health software company.
In Pakistan, women-led firms have only raised 3% of overall investment for the startup ecosystem in the last five years, which is why this fundraiser is a ground-breaking opportunity for Pakistani women founders to show what they can accomplish.
medIQ’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Siddique, said “We are thrilled to complete this strategic funding round, which is an endorsement of our holistic healthcare model by leading investors with robust healthcare and technology expertise”.
She continued, “medIQ is playing a critical role in redefining digital healthcare services by improving quality and convenience for patients, reducing costs for patients, healthcare providers, and insurers, with a strong capacity to become a regional player.”
“An integrated digital platform is a present-day must-have in a healthcare system to deliver an efficient model of care at scale. medIQ has demonstrated a track record with more than three hundred thousand patients served in eighteen months only,” Dr. Siddiqui added.
The pandemic acted as a spur for Pakistan’s startup scene, with investments increasing from $65 million in 2020 to $350 million in 2021 across 83 deals.
Despite the significant market potential, the healthcare sector has lagged in venture capital financing, which is expected to change as the sector attracts more investor interest.
With the funds raised, medIQ intends to invest even more in its technological infrastructure in order to provide holistic virtual care to businesses and patients, based on the development of AI and Machine Learning tools using high-quality patient data.
The company intends to expand its services across 20 cities in Pakistan, as well as regionally.
To read our blog on “Pakistani Fintech startup, SadaPay, raises funds for large-scale launch,” click here.
