Samridhi Fund Invests 18 crore in Kanungo Institute of Diabetes

MUMBAI: IDBI Venture Capital's Samridhi Fund has invested Rs. 18 crore in Bhubaneswar-based Kanungo Institute of Diabetes Specialties (KIDS).
The company, set up by a doctor couple, Alok Kanungo and Mamata Tripathi, will use the funding to expand its footprint across the state using a hub-and-spoke model. "The funding will help us continue to increase market share and innovate further to provide affordable healthcare especially in rural Odisha," said Kanungo.

Kanungo Institute has also raised additional Rs.7 crore debt funding for its expansion plans. This includes opening 30 district centres across Odisha and doubling the number of beds in its main centre at Bhubaneswar to 200 over the next year.

Kalozal Consultants was the financial advisor to Kanungo Institute for the transaction. According to Indian Council of Medical Research, about a tenth of the population in urban areas and 6-8 per cent of people in rural Odisha have diabetes.

Kanungo Institute estimates there are 4 million people with diabetes and more than 9 million people at the pre-diabetes stage in Odisha. Kanungo Institute, a tertiary care player, is focused on management of diabetes and treatment of multifunction disorders due to it.

The company that has been profitable for two years earned revenue of Rs. 9.4 crore in FY14, and expects to reach Rs. 30 crore in revenue next year. "The district centres envisaged to be created would innovate the way healthcare is delivered to diabetics," said Rajesh Kumar from Samridhi Fund, who will join the board of the company.

Kanungo Institute also plans to leverage technology, including a computerised questionnaire to help diagnose patients at district level. While initially the company plans to expand in Odisha, it will also roll out operations in Jharkhand and parts of Chattisgarh and West Bengal later.

The company was founded by 54 year old Dr Kanungo , who has 30 years of experience in tackling diabetes, in 2008. For Samridhi Fund, which was set up with UK's Department for International Development (DFID), this will be the second investment in the healthcare sector.

The Rs. 350 crore fund, focuses on eight underdeveloped states - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh , Odisha, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand , Rajasthan and West Bengal