Graham Byrne and David Crimmins of Global Health Capital. Photo: John McElroy
A new Irish fintech has been launched to provide financial solutions that are designed specifically for medical professionals, including hospital consultants and dentists.
Global Health Capital is co-founded by David Crimmins, a former chief executive of the software company WebDoctor, and Graham Byrne, who was managing director of Cardinal Capital and chief executive of Flender.
“Global Health Capital was born from a clear recognition that there is a a crucial gap in the market – a lack of specialist providers delivering tailored financial solutions to the medical sector,” Mr Crimmins said. “Medical professionals often face delayed insurance payments and cash-flow pressures that traditional banks don’t understand. Our AI-powered platform recognises those unique challenges and delivers funding that fits their professional realities.”
Global Health Capital is underpinned by funding from Santiago Capital, with an initial tranche of €5m, and says it is in active negotiations with other funders to increase this amount. While launching in Ireland, it has plans to move into the UK and Germany within the next year.
Its stated aim is to offer medical professionals an alternative to personal loans, traditional terms loans and hire-purchase agreements.
The company says it will deliver fast and flexible funding solutions that accommodate the long payment cycles that are typical of the healthcare sector, such as delays in insurance pay-outs which can take from 50 to 120 days.
With offices in Dublin, it has plans to employ 15 people over its first two years of operation.
“Medical professionals are being totally underserved by traditional financial institutions which fail to understand their unique needs and challenges,” Mr Byrne said.
Among the products the new company will offer are “Mediflow”, a 90-day pre-approved revolving line of funding that bridges the gap between invoicing and reimbursement, with funds typically released within 24 hours.
Another is “MediFlex”, a flexible credit line secured on a clinic’s credit card terminal receipts, which is designed to deal with unexpected cash-flow issues or seasonal fluctuations. Repayments are automatically taken from future credit-card receipts.
It says customers must be registered with the Irish Medical Council, based in Ireland and operate as a sole trader, partnership, or incorporated medical practice.