KITES Senior Care, a geriatric care services provider backed by Ranjan Pai’s Manipal Education & Medical Group (MEMG) family office, is aiming for a three-fold jump in its total bed capacity over the next two years.
“As part of phase two, we are looking to have 1,200 beds under management by March 2025,” said Rajagopal G, Founder & CEO, KITES Senior Care.
Speaking to businessline to announce the company’s foray into the Chennai market. On Friday, KITES Senior Care announced the launch of a 15,000 sq ft, 45-bedded geriatric care centre in Chennai’s commercial hub of T Nagar.
Founded in 2016 by Rajagopal G, AS Arvind, and Reema Nadig, the Bengaluru-based KITES Senior Care specialises in post-operative & post-hospitalisation rehabilitative care, palliative care, and Dementia care of the elderly. These services are provided both at their specialised care facilities and also in the form of home care. The company is said to have provided geriatric care to over 5,300 families till date.
In January 2023, KITES raised $2 million (around ₹17 crore) in a pre-series A round from MEMG. The company then said it will use the fresh capital to scale its operations in Bengaluru and expand into Hyderabad and Chennai and to build its technology platform.
“That plan is on track. By October, we will be operating in a total of five units across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai with 340 beds under our management,” Rajagopal said.
Phase 2 expansion
He said as part of its phase two growth, it will go deeper in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad markets besides tapping into markets like Pune, Coimbatore and Cochin.
Rajagopal said the company is looking for $8-10 million of funding to fuel its expansion plans. He added that the fundraising discussion is already in place with MEMG and few other interested investors.
Currently, 50 per cent of KITES’ business is coming from transitional care, followed by Palliative care (30 percent), and Dementia care (20 per cent).
“Dementia care has a great capacity to grow. We believe in every city we operate, we will take in a couple of facilities to provide care for 200 patients in the care facilities and an equal number at home,” Rajagopal said.
Reema Nadig, Co-founder, COO & Group Medical Director, KITES Senior Care, said while other senior living service providers focus on providing ‘Stay solutions’, KITES focus is purely on the rehab care that too with the target audience of 60 years and above.
“The geriatric care segment is going to become a large customer base. They are going to demand for specialized services not just in health but a range of consumer needs such as clothing etc,” she noted.