Alan Enters Africa with Acquisition of Digital Health Startup Tanel

In a move that challenges recent trends in the African investment landscape, French health insurance company Alan has acquired Dakar-based digital health startup Tanel. The transaction, which closed in June, marks Alan’s first foray into the continent and provides Ventures Platform, AAIC Investment, and angel investors with a full exit.

The acquisition of Tanel, operating in both Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, stands out as African startups increasingly demonstrate their potential to be built for global acquisition. According to TechCabal, Mouhamed Ndoye, Tanel’s CEO, noted that the company had been actively seeking Series A funding when Alan approached with an acquisition offer.

“The plan was to raise the Series A earlier this year, and then Alan reached out,” Ndoye said in an interview. “At some point we realised that going through the acquisition with Alan was more interesting for us, given the opportunity to expand across Africa.”

Breaking Patterns in African Exits

The deal defies several recent trends in the African exit market. Historically, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya have accounted for 81% of all disclosed exits—with financial services leading the way. Tanel’s profile as a Francophone healthtech startup outside these core markets is atypical.

While international acquirers represented 56% of African exits in 2020, this share has since declined to 33%. Alan’s acquisition demonstrates that foreign buyers remain interested in high-potential African ventures.

Building Healthcare Infrastructure from the Ground Up

Founded in 2021 by Ndoye and Makhtar Diop, Tanel was created to address inefficiencies in how employers manage health coverage in Senegal—a process largely reliant on paper-based systems. The founders initially explored direct healthcare delivery but found that essential infrastructure was missing.

“We concluded the infrastructure we needed didn’t exist, so we built it,” explained Ndoye. “Starting with pharmacies and expanding across the patient journey.” Tanel operates as a licensed insurer, carrying its own risk—a distinction from many digital health startups that merely administer third-party coverage.

Currently, Tanel covers approximately 70,000 lives through more than 400 companies, connecting users to over 1,200 pharmacies and healthcare providers. The startup has raised $2.45 million across two funding rounds before being acquired by Alan.

A Familiar Acquisition Pattern

The acquisition follows a similar playbook seen with Paystack, which was acquired by Stripe after the U.S. payment giant led its Series A round—allowing them to monitor and integrate the company over time.

Ndoye noted that Alan’s earlier investment provided valuable visibility into Tanel’s operations before the formal acquisition process began. He emphasized cultural alignment between the two companies as a key factor in their decision to merge.