Out-of-hospital consumer healthcare startup, Portea Medical, on Thursday said that it has secured a commitment from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for a $7.7 million local currency guarantee facility.
The DFC guarantee will enable a local commercial bank in India to extend an equivalent of ₹52 crore loan to Portea. The structure will help mobilize local capital for Portea and mitigate foreign exchange risk from the company's balance sheet.
This will assure repayment of a rupee-denominated loan to be issued by a local commercial bank in India.
The DFC-guaranteed loan will be used to support rapid expansion of Portea Medical’s business through digitalization, broadening service offerings, increasing geographical coverage and developing delivery channels for home-based healthcare.
During the covid-19 pandemic, Portea roped in more than 1,000 healthcare workers and 500 doctors, directly and through partnerships, to deliver home isolation support for covid-19 patients under agreements with the governments of Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Chennai and local administrations.
Portea has tended to over 400,000 covid-19 positive patients to date.
“Portea has been building its leadership in the outside healthcare space in this country. Having an entity of the caliber and pedigree as DFC partner with us in this journey is very exciting. They are well known for their focus on creating social impact through investment in businesses in areas including healthcare. Their focus on low-and lower middle-income countries has ensured that organizations get the much-needed financial support for developmental projects,” said Meena Ganesh, co-founder, managing director and chairperson of Portea Medical.
According to a report by RedSeer Consulting, the home healthcare industry in India is slated to grow from $11billion to $13 billion by 2025. The covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated this growth.
At present, Portea Medical has been offering complicated medical procedures including dialysis and chemotherapy at home during the pandemic. With the debt raise, the company is set to strive ahead by expanding its footprint across the country.
“DFC is proud to support Portea Medical, in bringing high-quality medical care to patients’ homes - an agility that is needed now more than ever as the pandemic continues to strain resources,” said Algene Sajery, DFC’s vice president for external affairs office and head of global gender equity initiatives.
“I am also so happy to see Portea Medical’s continuous commitment to lifting underserved women out of poverty by training them for healthcare careers that will impact lives for generations,” added Sajery.
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