Alan Acquires Senegalese Healthtech Firm Tanel, Enters African Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

Global health insurance company, Alan, has completed the acquisition of Senegalese digital health company, Tanel, marking its entry into the African market.

Tanel, founded in 2021 by Mr Mouhamed Ndoye and Mr Makhtar Diop, operates in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, providing digital tools that enable businesses to manage employee health coverage and give individuals easier access to healthcare services.

The company currently serves about 70,000 members across more than 400 companies and connects users with a network of over 1,200 pharmacies and healthcare providers.

The acquisition gives Alan an established presence in sub-Saharan Africa, with Tanel’s existing team and local partnerships providing knowledge of healthcare systems, regulations and customer needs in the two markets.

Alan had first invested in Tanel during the company’s seed funding round in 2024 and subsequently worked with its founders and team.

Following the acquisition, Tanel will retain its existing team, while Mr Ndoye and Mr Diop will continue to lead the company’s operations and Alan’s expansion efforts in Africa.

The companies said they plan to reach more than one million members across Africa by 2030, with initial efforts focused on strengthening operations in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire before expanding into Anglophone markets in West and East Africa.

The combined business will also work on integrating its technology platforms, improving the digital healthcare journey and introducing additional services, including telehealth and preventive healthcare support.

Alan, which currently has more than 1.2 million members across France, Spain, Belgium and Canada, said the acquisition would allow it to extend its model of combining health insurance with preventive healthcare to Africa for the first time.

The company said Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire provide a strategic entry point, with the health insurance market in the two countries estimated at nearly €600 million and growing by about 10 per cent annually.

Commenting on the transaction, Alan’s Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, Mr Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, said the partnership would combine Alan’s technology with Tanel’s understanding of local healthcare markets.

“Technology can help deliver that at scale, but it has to be paired with teams that understand their markets,” he said.

According to him, Tanel had built relationships with users, companies, healthcare providers and regulators in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, providing Alan with a strong foundation for its African expansion.

Tanel co-founder, Mr Ndoye, said the company was established to address gaps in healthcare infrastructure and simplify access to care.

He said the partnership with Alan would provide Tanel with additional technology and resources to accelerate its growth.

The transaction also provides an exit for Tanel’s founders and investors, including Ventures Platform, AAIC Investment and angel investors such as Dr Mussaad M. Al-Razouki, Mr Alyune-Blondin Diop and Mr Charles ‘Chuck’ Slaughter.

Managing Partner at Ventures Platform, Mr Dotun Olowoporoku, described the deal as an important milestone for Francophone Africa’s technology ecosystem, noting that the region continues to see relatively few exits.

He said the acquisition demonstrated the potential of locally built African companies to create long-term value while encouraging investors to support founders developing essential services across the continent.