Hanoi (VNA) – Complicated developments o𝄹f COVID-19 over the past two years have fueled investment in startups operating in the sectors of medical technology, medicine, and health care in Vietnam.

Doctor Anywhere, a startup run in Vietnam since 2019, has freshly announced it raised 65.7 million USD from a funding round coordinated by Asia Partners with the participation of such investors as Novo Holdings, Philips and OSK-SBI Venture Partners. The number of health checkups via the Doctor Anywhere application has increased to 300-400, even over 500, per day from 200 in its beginning stage. Medigo, an application for drug delivery and consultations from pharmacists and doctors, also raised 1 million USD from the Touchstone Partners recently. Meanwhile, medical start-up Medici received seed funding from Insignia Ventures. Storing over 100,000 electronic medical records, it is cooperating with more than 50 clinics and hospitals across over 30 provinces and cities. Medici has seen its quarterly revenue growing 100 percent and monthly user growth reaching 20 percent. AiHealth – an application that help users find doctors, book appointments and buy drugs online – has obtained investment from Singapore. Medical technology start-up Docosan Vietnam's scheduling software that helps doctors easily manage appointment bookings at medical facilities has raised more than 1 million USD in a funding round from the AppWorks Venture Fund. Ngo Thanh Son, deputy director of VMED Group, said given the economy bearing negative impacts from the pandemic, health startups can still maintain hope for growth, even strong breakthroughs. Le Ngoc Hai, CEO of Doctor Anywhere Vietnam, said COVID-19 turns the healthcare sector in Vietnam ‘golden land’ for investors in the nation and abroad. Hai said Vietnam, whose population nears 97 million, houses over 1,000 hospitals, boasting great potentials for the application of technologies in the sector. From an investor’s perspective, Philipp Breschan, CEO Siemens Healthineers in Vietnam, said COVID-19 has forced many nations to change and update healthcare trends, particularly the provision of remote services, in the digital age. Vietnamese Government’s promotion of capitalising on telecommunications services and smart solutions in the medical sector as well as the nation’s growing telecommunications infrastructure are advantages for it to develop healthcare technologies, he noted./.