Tibu Health secures new funding to expand pharmacy-based clinics in Kenya

Kenyan healthtech start-up Tibu Health has secured financing from Proparco, with the funding set to accelerate the company’s rollout of embedded clinics and expand access to primary healthcare for underserved communities in Kenya.

The financing, channelled through the Bridge Fund by Digital Africa facility, will support Tibu Health’s proximity-based model, which places clinics inside existing spaces such as pharmacies and supermarkets. The company says the approach is designed to make healthcare more accessible, affordable and closer to where people already live and shop.

Founded in 2020 by Jason Carmichael, Tibu Health focuses on delivering low-cost, high-quality primary healthcare, mainly to middle-income and underserved populations. Since 2024, the company has been building a network of “Minute Clinics” linked to a central hub that provides specialist services including medical imaging, pediatrics, gynecology, laboratory testing and telemedicine.

The model is designed to make expansion faster and more efficient across urban and peri-urban areas, while also addressing avoidable self-medication, a persistent public health challenge across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Tibu Health currently operates 10 Minute Clinics across four counties in Kenya, including Nairobi. The company also says it has already delivered more than 45,000 diagnoses and administered 2,500 vaccines since launch.

“We are proud to support Tibu Health, an innovative company transforming access to primary healthcare through an accessible and affordable proximity-based model,” said Djalal Khimdjee, Deputy CEO of Proparco. “By combining mini-clinics embedded within pharmacies with a centralized medical hub, Tibu Health enables thousands of patients, particularly among middle- and lower-income populations, to access essential, high-quality healthcare services.”

Carmichael said the funding validates the company’s approach. “Expanding access to primary healthcare at scale requires embedding care within the infrastructure people already use,” he said. “Proparco’s support enables us to accelerate that expansion and demonstrates the viability of this model for emerging markets.”

The new backing gives Tibu Health fresh momentum as it looks to broaden its footprint and strengthen primary care delivery in Kenya.