Ghana: Yemaachi Biotech raises $3m seed funding
Yemaachi Biotech, a cancer research and diagnostics company headquartered in Accra, Ghana with offices in Washington, DC, announced the close of a $3 million seed round to advance its mission of diversifying precision oncology globally. V8 Capital led the round, with LifeLine Family Heritage Fund, Y Combinator, Tencent, LoftyInc Capital, VestedWorld, V Square Capital and Ethan Perlstein also participating.
Founded by Yaw Bediako, David Hutchful, Joyce Ngoi, and Yaw Attua-Afari in 2020, Yemaachi is dedicated to accelerating precision oncology in Africa and beyond by expanding access to research and diagnostics. Yemaachi’s pan-African genomic and clinical knowledge base and research platform, combined with deep clinical partnerships across Africa, provide the foundation for innovative products and partnerships to advance new molecular diagnostics and therapeutic targets. The company also offers clinical testing services including NGS-based screening and diagnostic testing services, optimised for local populations.
Africa has been largely excluded from both genomic and oncology research. Although the continent accounts for 17% of the world’s population, only 2% of genomic study participants are of African descent.
“We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of genomic data and understanding. We know genetic outcomes are context dependent, including within the genome. Creating a dataset that has the greatest genomic diversity can enable rapid discoveries that have long-term implications for cancer research, drug development, and patient care, not just in Africa, but globally,” said Yaw Bediako, co-founder and CEO of Yemaachi. “Combined with Yemaachi’s expertise in immunogenomics, bioinformatics, and deep learning, the company’s expansive datasets can be a force multiplier for rapidly accelerating advancements in oncology.”
”The breadth of expertise of Yemaachi’s highly talented founding team, the clinical partnerships they have already formed, and their focus on leveraging the vast untapped resource of African genetic diversity to discover the next generation of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics makes them a very exciting and valuable investment for us,” said Tobi Oke, managing partner at V8 Capital Partners.
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