Egypt-based mental wellness platform, 07 Therapy that seeks to help clients deal with mental illness has secured $2.1 million seed funding.
The startup will utilize this fund to spur its growth across the Middle East, develop new product features as well as expand its Employee Wellness Program.
Hikma Ventures led this seed round with the participation of C-Ventures, Lotus Ventures, and other angel investors.
Ashraf Bacheet, Ashraf Adel, and Nader Iskander launched 07 Therapy in 2019 to provide solutions to the prevalent mental stress problem in Africa.
O7 Therapy is a refined, scientific, and evidence-based online platform, established to support clients from around the world providing pathways to mental wellness and positively impacting the workforce.
It takes clients on therapeutic journeys and ensures the security and safety of clients, through trusted protocols for data encryption and storage, in a user-friendly framework.
O7 Therapy has also built a team of bilingual psychiatrists and psychotherapists to support clients through the mental challenges they might be facing.
Employee Wellness Programs for organizations are provided through a unique business to business to employee (B2B2E) model. This model seeks to prioritise the impact of mental health challenges in the workplace, focus on raising awareness and understanding, create safe and supportive spaces, and implement strategies that promote mental wellbeing.
CEO and co-founder, Ashraf Bacheet said in a statement, “Everyone deserves convenient and, more importantly, personalised trustworthy access to premium mental wellness services. This is what drives us to do what we do.”
According to the World Economic Forum, most African governments spend less than 1% of their allocated health budget on mental illness. Due to the lack of investment in related services, 85% of people suffering from depression on the continent have no access to effective treatment.
Currently, an estimated 100 million people in Africa suffer from clinical depression, including 66 million women.This staggering number reiterates the need for essential mental health services in Africa. 07 Therapy is a brave attempt at halting this silent epidemic.
“While COVID-19 has accelerated adoption of digital health services, it has also contributed to a rise in mental health issues such as loneliness, stress, anxiety, burnout, and more,” Hamzeh Abdul-Hadi, Principal at Hikma Ventures said.
“We believe O7 Therapy is well-positioned to address some of these problems and provide people with a trusted platform for better health and wellbeing,” he added.
