RABAT, May 11 (Reuters) – Moroccan clinic operator Oncorad is planning an initial public offering (IPO) on the Casablanca Stock Exchange in three years’ time to fund its expansion plan. In doing so, he is capitalizing on rising demand for healthcare services as Morocco generalizes health insurance, CEO Redouane Samlali said on Thursday.
The company managed to raise 458 million dirhams ($45.5 million) on the same day from private equity firms: CDG Invest Growth of Morocco and Stoa of France.
“This capital increase helps enable an IPO in three years,” he said.
“Oncorad plans to spend 3 billion dirhams to increase its facilities from the current 13 to 30 by 2026,” Semlali told Reuters after the signing ceremony.
The Moroccan private sector must create at least 700 additional private clinics in this decade in order to improve healthcare, especially in underserved regions.
Almost 80% of Moroccan clinics are concentrated in the capital Rabat and economic center Casablanca, that is 15% of Moroccan territory, he said.
Moroccan hospitals lack 32,000 doctors and 65,000 nurses, according to the Health Ministry, and health services are unevenly distributed, leaving many regions considered medical deserts.
Semlali said his group has begun hiring dozens of foreign medical professionals and also plans to set up its own training facility in the northern city of Nador.
Morocco has increased public sector health budget by 19% to 28 billion dirhams to improve health services in 2023.
“The private sector would help ease the burden” on public hospitals as demand for healthcare services is expected to increase as health insurance expands, he said.
Akdital, another private clinic operator, completed its recent IPO on the Casablanca Stock Exchange in December 2022.
Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Edited by David Gregorio
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