Nigerian healthcare startup MDaaS has opened its first clinic in Douala, Cameroon, marking its entry into Francophone Africa. This expansion is part of MDaaS’s strategy to diversify revenue and reduce reliance on the volatile Nigerian naira. “We’re scaling rapidly in Nigeria—we did over 16,000 patient visits last month—but we realized that we needed to diversify from a single country,” said CEO Oluwasoga Oni.
Founded in 2017, MDaaS provides diagnostic services including X-rays, ultrasounds, and automated lab tests across Nigeria. The startup now operates 16 clinics and partners with 20 affiliates, extending its reach across 26 Nigerian states. MDaaS, which has achieved profitability in Nigeria, differentiates itself by handling every aspect of clinic setup, from installation to tech integration, enabling streamlined operations across its network.
Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, was chosen as the launch site in Francophone Africa due to its bilingual population and unmet healthcare needs. “We visited other diagnostic centers in Cameroon and saw an opportunity to improve customer service and speed,” Oni said. In contrast to slow processes in some Cameroonian clinics, MDaaS’s automated systems allow patients to access results more efficiently—a model proven successful in Nigerian cities like Ibadan and Akure.
MDaaS’s entry into Cameroon comes as more Nigerian startups explore international expansion amid the naira’s 70% devaluation. Investors are increasingly encouraging ventures to look toward Francophone Africa, where the Euro-pegged CFA franc offers greater currency stability. This year, MDaaS raised $3 million from Nigerian VCs like Aruwa Capital and Ventures Platform, enabling the expansion despite the capital-intensive nature of managing multiple diagnostic centers.
Besides its diagnostic services, MDaaS runs Sentinel, a B2B digital health platform focused on preventive care. Still, the majority of revenue—65%—comes from consumer services. MDaaS claims to have served over 360,000 patients, with one-third of diagnoses occurring this year alone. “It’s been our best year ever,” Oni remarked, attributing the growth to rising demand in Nigeria’s secondary cities.
As MDaaS strengthens its foothold in Douala, it aims to gather insights to fuel future expansion across West Africa. “Our big motto is ‘building healthcare for Africa’s next billion,’ so everything we’re doing furthers that goal,” Oni said.
