Editor’s note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa.
Egyptian HealthTech startup Reme-D has closed a $1.45 million pre-Series A funding round led by Anara Impact Capital, with participation from the Global Innovation Fund, Africa Health Ventures and others. The fresh capital will go toward expanding Reme-D’s manufacturing capacity tenfold, growing its regional footprint, and broadening its diagnostic product line to cover new disease areas, including genetic disorders and cancer.
The funding comes just months after the startup secured a $500k equity investment from Global Innovation Fund in April. With the new funding, Reme-D plans to expand its manufacturing capacity, regional reach, and product portfolio, with plans to add tests for new disease areas, including genetic diseases and cancer-related tests, while making more of them temperature-resilient and easier to transport and store in remote locations and healthcare facilities with limited infrastructure.
With a team that has grown from five to 50 people, Reme-D will now move to a 1,500 sqm facility and upgrade its equipment, enabling it to increase capacity by tenfold, while continuing to expand market access across Africa and strengthen its quality and regulatory capabilities.
“Success means that patients in Africa and the Global South are no longer blocked from life-altering disease diagnosis by cost or availability of an advanced molecular test in their area. This is our ultimate goal,” said Salma Tammam, founder and CEO of Reme-D. “We take particular pride in demonstrating what African science and African women can bring to the business world and global community, and we are grateful to be supported by a group of remarkable investors who share our desire for real-world positive impact.”
Founded in 2023 by Tammam, Reme-D develops and manufactures molecular diagnostic tests for diseases including tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis, and HPV, with a focus on delivering affordable, temperature-resilient diagnostics for underserved markets across Africa. Since 2023, the company has developed and commercialised 30 diagnostic products at its manufacturing facility in Cairo and supplied over 550,000 tests across Egypt, Kenya, and Sudan, serving public and private laboratories, hospitals, and research institutions.
Its products have featured in international scientific publications, and the company has also filed a US patent application covering its proprietary technology. Recently, Reme-D equipped a custom-made solar-powered mobile laboratory commissioned by the WHO Egypt country office to support the Egyptian Ministry of Health’s monitoring of vector-borne diseases in remote areas.
Tammam started Reme-D with the primary goal of serving populations who cannot get a diagnosis simply because of where they live by offering shorter and simpler testing protocols, greater stability in hot and humid climates, and lower costs than imported alternatives. Its product catalogue spans nucleic acid extraction kits, amplification and detection reagents, and testing equipment, with diagnostic panels covering viral, bacterial and genetic diseases, alongside a research-use product line.
“We were impressed by Salma and the Reme-D team’s ability to combine deep scientific expertise with a clear understanding of the realities of delivering diagnostics in underserved markets. Reme-D has already demonstrated that high-quality molecular diagnostics can be developed and manufactured locally, and we are excited to support the team as they scale their impact across MEA and beyond,” said Mohamed Hussain, Principal at Anara Impact Capital.
