STARTUP WATCH- Vezeeta eyeing expansion beyond MENA in early February, says founder: Vezeeta, an app that helps connect patients with physicians, is looking to enter Africa and south-east Asia for the first time in early February, founder Amir Barsoum says in an interview with the National. Although the company is most comfortable operating in EM, it is also looking at interesting global prospects, Barsoum says: “Globally, we can be operating as north and south as it gets. As long as there’s fragmentation in the healthcare market, that’s where we can add value to our consumers or patients.”

And it is seeking new funding to pay for it: Funding would go towards market expansion, research and development, and new products, according to Barsoum, who did not disclose the amount or timing for any new funding round. The International Finance Corporation invested USD 1 mn in Vezeeta in December 2018 as a follow-on investment to a September series C funding round in which the online platform raised USD 12 mn. The startup has reportedly raised USD 22.6 mn altogether since it was founded eight years ago. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are its biggest markets, having seen a “strong pick up” in demand over the last 18 months, Barsoum says.