Amapola
Empowering Women's Health, One Payment at a Time.
Introduction
Amapola helps women divide payments for reproductive healthcare services into smaller installments. To offer an integrated approach to women’s health, and target the unmet needs of reproductive care, we focus on three key services OBGYN visits, birth control and STI testing, and maternity care. Unlike other lending platforms, we do not charge the customer with credit fees or high-interest rates, but rather look to provide outstanding administrative and collection services to the physicians to generate revenue.
Problem
Economic challenges in Mexico have affected women’s access to sexual healthcare. Mexicans face both deficient public healthcare spend while having low access to financial services. In 2021, households incurred in 60% of all health spending (40% government spend; INEGI). Half of all Mexicans don’t have a bank account, and over 70% live hand-to-mouth, creating healthcare gaps (INEGI). The women's health gap is reflected in 40% of women not visiting an OBGYN at least one time a year (Doctoralia), and ~20% of women who want to avoid pregnancy not having modern birth control access (higher % for never-married women; Guttmacher).
This problem is not unique to Mexico. Average out-of-pocket healthcare spending in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) was 40% (World Bank). There are 218M women of reproductive age in LMIC that have an unmet need for modern contraception (Guttmacher). A successful solution in the Mexico could be an important step toward better women's care worldwide.
Opportunity
Amapola helps women divide payments for reproductive healthcare services into smaller installments. To offer an integrated approach to women’s health, and target the unmet needs of reproductive care, we focus on three key services OBGYN visits, birth control and STI testing, and maternity care. Unlike other lending platforms, we do not charge the customer with credit fees or high-interest rates, but rather look to provide outstanding administrative and collection services to the physicians to generate revenue.
Amapola is a two-sided business. On the one side of the business, there are patients in need of financial assistance to access medical treatments. Initial research shows high potential in the new professional segment. These women have only begun accessing financial services and are most likely still paying tuition debts. An estimate of the size of this market is the 7.3 million women who are between the ages of 15 and 29 who were employed in 2021 (INEGI).
On the other side, we have providers of medical services who want to access a larger pool of potential clients. There are around 20 thousand registered Doctors of Medicine with specialties related to women’s health in Mexico, and it is one of the specialties with the most recent graduates, making up 10% of the total graduates (National Academy of Medicine of Mexico).