Norwest Venture Partners invests $4.5M in primary care clinic chain NationWide

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) has invested Rs 25 crore ($4.5 million) in Bangalore-based primary care clinic chain NationWide Primary Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd. (NationWide) in one of the largest venture capital funding in primary healthcare space in India.

Founded in March 2010 by Santanu Chattopadhyay and Shantanu Rahman, NationWide has grown to 15 clinics across Bangalore, including three hub clinics and 12 satellite clinics. A major part of the current investment will be utilised to expand operations over the next 18 months and set up a total of 120 clinics in Bangalore.

Santanu Chattopadhyay, founder and managing director of NationWide Primary Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd. said, “We plan to open our new clinics in strategic locations in the peripheral areas of Bangalore and cater to the largely underserved customers in this region. With 20 hub clinics and approximately 100 satellite clinics across Bangalore in the next year and a half, NationWide will build a strong base for affordable primary care.”

NationWide also offers corporate services, including on-site consultations and health education initiatives that are currently in use by companies, including Capgemini, Idea Cellular, Madura Coats and others.

Talking about NationWide, Mohan Kumar, executive director, NVP India, said, “The company’s strong product offering with extensive use of technology, combined with its attractive business model and market traction, make it well poised to disrupt the traditional primary healthcare market in India.”

The primary healthcare market is currently estimated at $40 billion and is expected to cross $200 billion in the next 10 years. NationWide has partnered with diagnostic lab chains and tertiary-care hospitals to provide its customers with preferential benefits and “continuity of care” referrals.

The company maintains electronic health records in the cloud and runs a 24/7 on-call doctor service for their subscribed annual health plan members.

California-headquartered NVP, which has its offices in Mumbai and Bangalore in India, manages more than $3.7 billion in capital. The VC fund, which invests in early to late stage venture and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors, has been active in healthcare space in the country.

In May this year, it co-invested $6 million in another healthcare devices firm Perfint Healthcare Pvt Ltd in a Series C round of funding along with Accel Partners and IDG Ventures.

Since January this year, it has invested or reinvested in companies such as Komli Media India Pvt Ltd, Quikr India Pvt. Ltd and Manthan Software Services Pvt Ltd.