Private clinic operator Oncorad raises $45 mln to finance its growth

Moroccan private clinic operator Oncorad raised 45 million dollars via private equity funds France’s Stoa and Morocco’s CDG Invest as part of an effort to fund its expansion plan, it said.

Oncorad plans to have 30 clinics by 2026 as it sees a pressing need to fill in shortages in private hospitals especially in remote regions, its CEO Redouane Semlali told a press conference.

He said the company started hiring foreign medics amid a shortage of doctors and nurses in Morocco due in part to brain drain, he said.

Oncorad has five operational clinics currently and has specialized in the beginning in cancer pathologies but now seeks to build general clinics in underserved regions such as Essaouira, Guelmim, Nador, and Safi.

Morocco has launched an ambitious plan to generalize safety nets including health insurance which requires more hospitals. The government has also encouraged private operators to set up hospitals in remote areas offering incentives including tax cuts and aid to bridge the gap between regions.

Reuters, citing Semlali, said the next step for Oncorad growth plan would be to go public at the Casablanca stock exchange, following the example of clinic operator Akdital which succeeded in issuing an IPO last year.