Sonatel’s investment signals a growing collaboration between telecommunications companies and health-tech startups
Senegal-based telecommunications giant Sonatel has led a $1 million funding round for Eyone, an health-tech company that targets digitizing medical processes and improving real-time access to patient records in Africa. Sonatel’s Venture Innovation Fund (VIF) invested $855,000 while BICIS, the Senegalese arm of BNP Paribas, contributed $145,000.
Henri Ousmane Gueye and John Diatta founded Eyone in 2015 and created a platform for centralizing medical data and enabling healthcare providers and patients to jointky access shared medical records seamlessly. The platform aims to address long-standing inefficiencies in healthcare delivery, such as redundant diagnostic tests and delays in obtaining patient histories.
Henri Ousmane Gueye, Eyone’s CEO, brings over a decade of experience in software engineering and entrepreneurship. He earned a master’s degree in software engineering in France, after which he worked at Capgemini, Lyxor and BNP Paribas Arbitrage, then co-founding Eyone.
Under Gueye’s leadership, Eyone has gained recognition for its contributions to healthcare innovation. In 2017, the company won the second prize in the national phase of the Orange MENA Social Entrepreneur Prize.
The company has already deployed its flagship product – the Dossier Patient Unique Partage (Shared Patient Record) in Senegal to be a critical tool for improving the quality and continuity of care.
This funding will bolster Eyone’s efforts to expand its reach across Africa and enhance its ability to connect healthcare systems digitally while integrating artificial intelligence into the system. The move aligns with growing regional and global interest in leveraging technology to modernize healthcare delivery.
“Patients often waste valuable time repeating medical histories and undergoing unnecessary tests, while healthcare professionals lack access to reliable data,” said Gueye. “Eyone’s solutions simplify these processes, ensuring faster, data-driven care.”
The health-tech company has expanded its operations beyond Senegal, spreading into Mali, Côte D’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, and France. This regional and international reach demonstrates the potential inherent in its solutions in both emerging and developed markets.
Sonatel, a subsidiary of the Orange Group, has positioned itself as a key player in digital transformation across West Africa. By supporting Eyone, Sonatel leverages its telecommunications expertise to help build a connected healthcare ecosystem.
BICIS, one of Senegal’s leading banks, has similarly shown its support for innovative ventures. Its financial backing of Eyone reflects confidence in the startup’s business model and its potential to contribute to Senegal’s digital and economic development.
Eyone will channel the $1 million investment into:
Expanding Across Africa: Targeting new markets in West and Central Africa, where digital health infrastructure remains nascent.
Integrating Artificial Intelligence: Incorporating AI to enhance decision-making, resource allocation, and predictive analytics for improved patient outcomes.
Scaling Workforce Capacity: Hiring specialized talent in technology, healthcare, and business development to sustain its rapid growth.
This multi-pronged strategy aims to position Eyone as a leader in digital health innovation across the continent. Sonatel’s involvement signals broader opportunities for collaboration between telecommunications providers and healthtech startups in Africa. As Eyone scales its solutions and integrates AI, the company is poised to contribute meaningfully to the continent’s digital health transformation.
