Huge Deal Announced in UAE’s Healthtech Sector, As Sehteq Acquires Dawa Express for $3 Million

Sehteq has announced that it is to acquire fellow Emirati healthech, Dawa Express, in a deal said to be worth $3 million. Dawa Express will, at the end of a five-month transitionary period, become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sehteq, that will operate under its technology and innovation arm, Sehteq Portals.

Based on funding, Sehteq is considered to be among the top three health insurance providers in the UAE and ranks ninth on the global insure-tech list. Founded by Saif Al Jaibeji in 2017, Seqhteq received funding as recently as August, raising $20 million from its anchor investor, 971 Capital. Dawa Express has, in the six years since launching, built something of a reputation in the health tech field, acting as a tech-based services solutions provider.

The deal comes off the back of a brief but established working relationship between the two, with Sehtq having been a client of Dawa Express since March of this year.

"We have successfully delivered many projects for Sehteq over the past 6 months leveraging our innovative technologies and service hubs in Lebanon, India and UAE,” explains Dawa’s COO, Inshar K.M.  “I worked closely with Sehteq while I was the deputy head of medical operations at Dar Al Takaful Insurance in UAE, and I found a synergy between Dawa and Sehteq from day one."

For Sehteq’s Al Jaibeji, however, his experience of Dawa Express predates Sehteq.

“I worked with Dawa’s team 6 years ago on a number of projects in the region,” he explained in light of the deal. “Joining forces with Dawa will help us accelerate Sehteq’s vision to reimagine health insurance in the Middle East. This acquisition is aligned with our investment’s mandate to grow our technology platform and support startups, and will be the first of many similar partnerships with young entrepreneurs."

The deal is set to close by the first quarter of 2021.