Last week Emirati startup Meddy scored $2.5 million in Series A funding for its doctor search and booking platform. The latest infusion of cash was led by Modus Capital with participation from 212 Capital, QSTP, Kasamar Holdings, Dharmendra Ghai, Innoway and other unnamed investors. 

As part of the funding news the company named Kareem Elsirafy, a partner at Modus Capital, as a new board member. 

WHAT THEY DO 

The platform, which is currently up and running in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), allows patients to search doctors that meet their criteria and need. Users can search for general care, such as internal medicine or OB/GYNs and specialty care, such as a urologist or endocrinologist.

On the provider side, the site has offerings to help practices manage booking, patient reviews and analytics. 

WHAT IT’S FOR 

The new cash will be put towards expanding the company's coverage in UAE. While it currently covers Dubai and Sharjah, the new money is set to help it expand into Abu Dhabi and other emirates. 

“In the last six months, we have more than doubled our bookings and provider network in the UAE,” Haris Aghadi, CEO at Meddy, said in a blog post announcing the deal. “We are excited to have more fuel to keep working on our mission to help patients make informed health decisions.”

MARKET SNAPSHOT

There are a number of doctor booking platforms in the US. One major player in the field is Doctor.com, a New York-based company that helps doctors manage their online presence and book appointments. Additionally, in 2018 Doximity, a social network for doctors, teamed up with US News & World Report to developed a tool that lets patients book appointments while they are looking at doctor’s on profiles in USNews.com. 

In terms of platforms that help with marketing, another big name is PatientPop, a Santa Monica, California-based company that offers doctors a marketing service to grow their practice. Last year it raised an additional $25 million in funding. 

ON THE RECORD 

“We see Meddy as the up and coming leader in providing booking services to clinics in the GCC,” Elsirafysaid in the company’s blog post. “Haris and the team have proven they clearly understand the needs of their customers, and the positive feedback and value-added they provide have created a very strong foundation for rapid regional growth. We’re excited to have Meddy in our portfolio and look forward to supporting them in their continued growth.”