Modasta raises $1.5mn funding from Mauritius-based HNIs
Health content platform Modasta has raised $1.5 million from Mauritius-based high net individuals (HNIs). The raised funds will be used to upgrade technology, further grow the business, talent acquisition, and marketing outreach activities. It also plans to expand its range of offerings to include telehealth comprising online doctor consultation services, thus becoming the first holistic healthcare service provider for health seekers across India.
Modasta was founded in 2015 by former Accenture and Yahoo executive Bikram Barman, IIM alumnus Pankaj Pandey, COO, and Dr Geethanjali, Chief Content Officer.
Modasta claims to have over one million registered users. It offers credible health content curated by Indian doctors for the Indian health seekers and provides content in English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil, with plans on the anvil to extend the number of languages. It also offers health forums to exchange knowledge and experiences.
Bengaluru-based Modasta has a team size of 30 members and plans to double the head count by next year.
“The healthcare industry is witnessing a robust growth trajectory, and at Modasta, we are aiming for a large slice of this lucrative $280 billion industry. As the first of its kind initiative in India, Modasta will service the length and breadth of the country with pertinent content on a plethora of subjects from lifestyle diseases, mental health, women’s health, men’s health, sexual health and pediatrics amongst others,” said Bikram, Co-founder and CEO of Modasta.
Healthcare market
The healthcare market in India is expected to reach $280 billion by 2020 at a CAGR of 22.9 percent. According to a report released by India Brand Equity, the per-capita expenditure on healthcare is projected to reach $160 billion by 2017.
Recently, Kolkata-based healthtech startup Tiyo had raised $120,000 of angel funding. It has also closed pre-Series A round, where it has raised $750,000, after being bootstrapped for almost a year.
Bengaluru-based Portea raised $37.5 million in series B funding round and then acquired PSTakeCare earlier this year.
The other established player in this market is Bengaluru-based Practo which closed $90 million in Series C funding, led by Tencent, with participation from Sofina, Sequoia India, Google Capital, Altimeter Capital, Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital Global Equities and Yuri Milner, last year.
