Proparco, the private sector financing arm of Agence Française de Développement (AFD), has partnered with the Mauritian group CIEL to develop a chain of private hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The funds provided to the newly constituted subsidiary CIEL Healthcare Limited (CHL) will contribute to the acquisition of health facilities in the region and to the development of new leading-edge medical services in them (obstetrics, oncology, cardiology, etc.), which are not readily available locally.

Proparco holds approximately 15% of CHL after this first capital round, alongside the sponsor CIEL and International Finance Corporation.

CHL has already begun to build its health network by taking over Fortis Clinique Darné (FCD) in Mauritius and International Medical Group in Uganda.

These facilities have benefited from a transfer of expertise and advanced medical technologies by Fortis Healthcare, India’s leader in hospital management, which is under contract with CHL.

Since the takeover, FCD has renewed most of its units, introduced new specialties and strengthened its capacity.

A primary healthcare center has also recently been opened in the north of the country.

The International Hospital Kampala, for its part, has developed its specialties in obstetrics, surgery and intensive care, and upgraded existing facilities.

A first national cancer treatment center is expected to be built soon.

Ciel Healthcare will take majority stakes in leading hospitals and in a few smaller facilities.

In each target country, CHL’s objective is to build integrated healthcare provision of a quality in line with the highest international standards.

Fortis Healthcare will be responsible for developing and upgrading services.

CHL will contribute to developing health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa, where healthcare provision is structurally deficient.

By 2020, it is expected to create around a hundred additional beds, which will provide a capacity of 150,000 more patients.

More generally, this operation will contribute to structuring the sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, where chronic underinvestment by governments means the private sector plays a role crucial in addressing the strong growth in healthcare demand.