Avenue Group Limited, a Kenyan healthcare provider, recently received an investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support its strategy of expanding its healthcare offering and patient reach by 20% across the country over the next five years.
With the help of IFC’s $12.7 million loan, Avenue will be able to expand its primary care footprint and enhance its secondary and tertiary offerings by building new healthcare facilities and modernizing existing hospitals and clinics.
As a subsidiary of the Evercare Group, which provides an integrated healthcare delivery platform in developing economies in Africa and South Asia like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Nigeria, Avenue currently treats over 430,000 patients annually.
Ave will add a radiology department to its Kisumu hospital, state-of-the-art operating theater equipment to its Kisumu and Thika hospitals, a new wing to its Parklands hospital, and five new clinics across Kenya as part of its expansion strategy, which has received funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and continues to receive support from Evercare.
The funding is part of IFC’s plan to encourage private healthcare providers in Africa to help meet the rising demand for high-quality care while assisting governments in providing health services to all residents.
Even though Kenya’s well-established private health services market, it still needs supply gaps in the face of rising demand. There will also be a greater need for chronic disease management and services as the percentage of deaths in Kenya attributable to these causes is expected to rise to 55% by 2030.
“IFC’s investment in Avenue is a testament to the quality of care across our network and the multiple growth opportunities we have in front of us. Avenue and IFC have a shared commitment to creating greater access to high quality healthcare in Kenya and driving continuous improvement in our facilities, technology, and delivery of services across the healthcare continuum. We look forward to working together with IFC to expand our network and enhance our offering,” said Imran Osman, CEO of Avenue Group.
“IFC’s role in the healthcare sector is to complement government efforts to leverage the private sector to help meet the growing demand for quality healthcare. Our investment in Avenue will increase the availability of healthcare at state-of-the-art facilities across Kenya, enabling more people to get the primary and advanced care they need,” said Amena Arif, IFC Country Manager for Kenya.
IFC’s advisory services will help Avenue maximize resource efficiency by implementing initiatives like the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies certification program. Building on the ESG initiatives Evercare implemented over the past two years, IFC will help Avenue strengthen environmental and social standards across several of its operations and establish a dedicated E&S team.
After integrating with the group’s three secondary and tertiary hospitals in Kenya, doctors at any of Avenue’s thirteen clinics can easily refer patients to more advanced medical care at any of Avenue’s other facilities.
TPG’s Evercare Health Fund, an emerging markets healthcare fund worth $1 billion, is the sole owner of Evercare and is supported by TPG’s global impact investing platform, TPG Rise. The business model at Avenue Group Limited is based on providing preferentially priced, high-quality medical care to its clients. To achieve this goal, it connects its network of clinics and hospitals.
IFC’s investments and advisory services in the healthcare and life sciences sector help spread new technologies and improve the standard of care provided to patients.
