Why telehealth had an uneventful year in Indonesia

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Hi readers,

A few years ago, one of my freelance gigs had me working with a speech therapist in Singapore who would conduct virtual consultations with children from different parts of Asia. Since it was the pre-telehealth era, such a concept was new to me and I found it fascinating how consultations could take place online.

Now, virtual consultations are booming with the rise of telehealth startups. In Singapore, I’ve already seen a range of startups targeting everything from general health to reproductive health. But in Indonesia, the industry isn’t developing as quickly. What’s going on there?

Today we look at:

• What’s slowing down telehealth in Indonesia?
• Hmlet getting a US$6 million lifeline
• Other newsy highlights such as Sea’s strong Q1 revenue and another potential SPAC IPO

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Indonesia’s telehealth industry has raised only US$200 million since 2016

On one hand, US$200 million sounds like a big amount. On the other hand, Indonesia’s ecommerce sector raised US$4 billion within the same five-year timeframe – that’s a US$3.8 billion difference from what the country’s telehealth sector generated. In a country where healthcare is severely understaffed (there are only four doctors for every 10,000 people), one would think that venture capitalists would jump on telehealth’s potential. But there are more issues in play.

• ”Trust me, I’m a doctor”: Trust doesn’t come easy when it has to do with someone’s body and health. So acquiring users takes a lot longer for Indonesia’s telehealth startups, compared to other industries in the country such as ecommerce and edtech.
• And even if the trust is there, users in the outer regions of Indonesia still meet difficulties, including not being able to purchase the prescribed medicine from pharmacies near them and limited or patchy internet connectivity.
• On the bright side: Telehealth has a huge growth potential in Indonesia. Earlier this year, Halodoc was appointed as the government’s official telehealth partner and it launched a vaccination service in partnership with Gojek. Alodokter also boasts “30 million monthly active users” currently.

Read more: What’s ailing Indonesia’s telehealth industry?

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Hmlet’s not calling it quits

This startup festival has it all