Impact investors are making allocations to Redcliffe Labs, the Indian diagnostics service provider. The country’s diagnostics market is estimated to be worth about $15bn this year, with expected growth of 15% annually until 2030.
Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) joined India-based diagnostics service provider Redcliffe Labs as a new investor as it led a Series C funding round with a $20m (€17.9m) capital injection.
Existing investor LeapFrog Investments committed $15m, while HealthQuad, an Indian healthcare innovation fund, and Spark Growth Ventures, a community-driven US-based venture capitalist, invested the rest.
“Through our investment in Redcliffe, we are addressing our three core pillars of impact in healthcare: accessibility, quality, and affordability—aligning with our broader vision of creating positive change in emerging markets,” IFU investment director Emil Sierczynski told Impact Investor.
Growing market
Sierczynski estimated the total diagnostics market in India, including both pathology and radiology, to be worth about $15bn this year, with expected growth of 15% annually until 2030.
India overtook China as the world’s most populous country last year with a population of 1.4 billion according to the United Nations. With incomes rising and higher life expectancy, India’s healthcare system faces significant challenges, especially when it comes to the rise of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
The growth of the Indian diagnostics market “is mostly driven by population growth and ageing population, increased testing penetration and higher health awareness”, said Sierczynski.
Aditya Kandoi, founder and chief executive officer of Redcliffe Labs, said the firm’s latest fund round was “a financial milestone” as well as a “catalyst for transformative change in India’s healthcare landscape”.
The extra funding will allow Redcliffe Labs to boost access to “advanced diagnostic services across the nation with a commitment to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to take charge of their health”, Kandoi said.
Impact plan
IFU, an independent government-owned fund, has to date invested in 1,346 companies in more than 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and parts of Europe. Total expected investment in its active portfolio is DKK107bn (€14.3bn), of which IFU has contributed DKK11bn, according to its website.
“As with all our investments, we’ve developed a comprehensive impact plan with Redcliffe,” Sierczynski said. One of IFU’s top priorities is to boost the number of patients tested in India to over 10 million annually. This will improve “access for all, including underserved and vulnerable groups such as chronic patients and those in remote areas”, Sierczynski said.
“Another priority is to double the number of Redcliffe’s diagnostic labs, all of which will receive NABL accreditation—India’s gold standard for laboratory quality,” Sierczynski said. He added the focus on improving standards was “particularly important given the variation in lab quality, especially outside major cities.”
