Interswitch Limited, Africa-focused digital payments company, has announced the acquisition of eClat Healthcare Limited, a Nigeria-based health technology company that aims to improve healthcare delivery in Africa.
According to a statement by the Lagos-based company, it acquired a 60percent stake in eClat through the purchase of shares from current shareholders and subscription to new shares issued by the company.
eClat Healthcare Limited specializes in assisting healthcare service providers in planning, designing and operating their unique practices through the deployment of its bespoke healthcare technology platform, designed specifically for the healthcare environment in Africa.
On the motive for the acquisition, the company stated that the combined product offerings of Interswitch and eClat are expected to, among other things, enable operators in the healthcare sector to develop new capabilities, improve the efficiency of their core operations and facilitate seamless payments.
“Nigeria’s healthcare system currently lacks adequate funding and a national framework, leading to operational inefficiencies. Interswitch’s strategic investment in healthcare technology aims to address these challenges by modernising the healthcare sector in Nigeria and eventually in Africa through its innovative products and services,” the statement read.
According to Wallace Ogufere, co-founder/CEO of eClat Healthcare Limited the growing adoption of value-based care, combined with the increasing level of usage of patient portals across the industry, has made it critical to take a new approach to patient engagement solution design in Nigeria.
“We expect to tightly integrate the eClat capabilities into the Interswitch platform, adding functionality that would enable providers to reach their entire patient populations by leveraging existing patient contact information,” Ogufere said.
This new acquisition by Interswitch represents the latest of several strategic investments executed by the company to enhance Interswitch’s product and service offering and expand its reach into new markets as the payments technology sector in Africa expands rapidly.
Commenting on the transaction, Mitchell Elegbe, Founder and Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, said: “We are a technology company that is innovating to deliver value across sectors that are critical to Africa’s social and economic development, our acquisition of eClat demonstrates strong progress along this strategy and alignment with our corporate vision.”
