Healthcare and personal cause crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru has raised $2 million (around ₹13 crore) in Series A, co-led by the Apollo Hospitals Group and integrated incubator Venture Catalysts.
The funds will be used to crowdfund treatment for cancer, organ transplants and paediatric cases.
This is the first time the Apollo Hospitals Group, a mainstream healthcare company, is investing in a crowdfunding platform. Pointing out that Apollo Hospitals has decided to make crowdfunding available to all its patients nationwide, Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, said the healthcare major would match any donation from other organisations as well as crowdfunded amounts with the CSR funds within the group. ImpactGuru is a crowdfunding platform that helps raise funds for medical emergencies, transplants, cancer treatment, newborn care, as also social and personal causes.
“Apollo Hospitals’ strategic investment into ImpactGuru can be termed a historic moment for the healthcare crowdfunding industry, not just in India but also globally,” Piyush Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of ImpactGuru.com, told BusinessLine . “This will help increase awareness of crowdfunding as a viable solution for those facing expensive surgeries, particularly cancer, transplant, paediatric cases, and also help save lives across the country,” he said.