Eye hospital chain Eye-Q raises $10mn from IFC and other international investors.

NEW DELHI: IFC, the investment banking arm of the World Bank Group, has invested $5.5 million in eye-hospital chain Eye-Q Vision promoted by Dr Ajay Sharma an eye surgeon. The company will use the funds to expand access to high-quality and affordable eye-care services to Indian non-metro cities. This equity investment is part of a $10 million financing round raised by Eye-Q. Nexus Venture Partners and Helion Venture Partners have also invested in this round.A statement issued by IFC said that this was the companys second second healthcare venture capital investment in South Asia. "An estimated 200 million Indians suffer from some form of vision problems, but only a minority has access to quality treatment. Specialized eye-care hospital chains such as Eye-Q help bridge this access gap, improve quality of patient lives, and increase their productivity," an IFC statement said."IFC's global healthcare industry knowledge, expertise and long-term financing are valuable to our current expansion plans," said Rajat Goel, co-founder and CEO, Eye-Q Vision. "Eye-Q will benefit from IFC's broad network of healthcare clients across emerging markets as we expand our quality-driven yet affordable eye-care model in India." These views were also echoed by Dr. Ajay Sharma, founder and CMD, Eye-Q Vision.Eye-Q currently provides eye-care services to nearly 350,000 patients a year, and plans to more than double patient reach over the next four years. The company plans to create skilled health-care jobs, a third of which are expected to be for women. The company already operates 28 clinics across the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, and Uttarakhand."IFC's investment in Eye-Q will help increase and improve access to affordable health services," said Pravan Malhotra, IFC's venture capital lead for south and southeast Asia. "Eye-Q's focus on emerging cities will help expand access to quality eye-care services while creating skilled healthcare jobs, especially for women." Around one-fourth of Eye-Q's hospitals are already located in the low-income state of Uttar Pradesh.​