Egyptian healthtech startup Vezeeta cuts 10% of 500-person staff

Vezeeta, a healthtech startup operating in the Middle East and Africa, laid off 10% of its staff last week. According to its website, Vezeeta has 500 employees.

The company was contacted for comment but didn't reply at the time.

The last time we covered Vezeeta was in 2020, when it raised $40 million in Series D funding. According to its CEO, the healthtech company has received over 70 million dollars in total and is considered one of Africa's and the Middle East's soonicorns.

A subscription-based doctor booking and consultation platform is what Vezeeta is now called. As of 2020, it was operating in 50 cities across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon, with a user base of 4 million patients and 30,000 healthcare providers using its software-as-a-service solution. Currently, the platform caters to 10 million patients across 78 cities via doctor consultations, pharmacy and diagnostics.

Before this news, there was no indication that the 10-year old company needed to cut costs. The current venture capital landscape has shown that no sector is immune to layoffs.

There are some notable examples in the U.S. health tech space. Carbon Health laid off 8% of its workforce due to the need to adjust to the changing market conditions. After raising $150 million at a $7 billion valuation, healthcare unicorn Ro relieved 18% of its staff from their duties to "manage expenses, increase the efficiency of our organization and better map our resources to our current strategy" According to Layoffs.fyi, there are other platforms around the world such as True pill.

This is the first time that a major player in Africa and the Middle East has been affected. The healthtech company didn't release any statements detailing what led to its decision or plans, but affected employees stated reasons Vezeeta probably highlighted in its discussion with staff One said the layoffs were a result of disasters in the market, while the other said it was caused by the global market crisis.

This is the second layoff news from a company that is based in the Middle East. SWVL said in May that it would lay off 32% of its workforce. Changes to its financial realities and the need to implement a portfolio maximization program were noted by the company.

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