Altibbi Ltd., one of the Middle East’s largest digital health platforms, announced a new round of funding amounting to $6.5 million. The round was co-lead by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and DASH Ventures with the participation of new strategic

investors TAMM, RIMCO Investments, Endeavor’s Catalyst Fund and other undisclosed investors.

Commenting on the investment, Walid Mansour, partner and chief investment officer at MEVP, said: “Altibbi’s growth over the past year has given us conviction in the company’s leadership and with re-investing and providing additional capital for it to scale.”

Ayman Sharaiha, cofounder and COO at Altibbi, said: “The funding is fully dedicated to further growing the company, which has established an exceptional track record as a premier provider of trusted health and wellness information in the region serving over six million people every month. We believe there is a true opportunity to further build Altibbi’s portfolio of telehealth solutions for the benefit of companies and consumers in the region.”

Altibbi provides ‘connected health’ services and solutions in 10 markets across the Arab World, primarily delivered through its flagship mobile application and online presence. Altibbi has rapidly evolved into one of the most popular Arabic mobile applications on both iOS and Android platforms, with the potential for expansion into new emerging markets.

The raise signals confidence in Altibbi’s ability to enhance medicine in a region where

governments spend an average of only eight percent of their budgets on healthcare compared to an average of 17 percent spent by OECD countries.

The proceeds of the latest round will primarily be used to expand Altibbi’s digital health offering for businesses and consumers in MENA.

On the content side, Altibbi intends to grow its presence and further expand its Arabic medical content library of 1.5 million pages. Furthermore, Altibbi will build on its free Q&A platform that currently answers 1,000 daily questions through its directory of 12,000 verified Arab doctors.

On the telehealth side, Altibbi aims to expand its offering on its premium health plans to the Arab World: real-time, round-the-clock tele-health services and unlimited access to high quality primary care local doctors. Altibbi will further invest in developing integrated industry-specific solutions for businesses in MENA. The telehealth solution will enable large employers to enhance employee’s wellness, drive operational efficiency, and save on healthcare costs.

“Telecommunication has been at the forefront of the global technology boom,” said Omar J. Sati, managing director at DASH Ventures. “It was only a matter of time before this technology delivered a seismic shift to the healthcare industry. Altibbi is not just a Telehealth platform but a mobile medical system, where patients literally have control of their own health within the palm of their hands.”