Alignd, a women-founded and led healthcare business, recently received an investment from E Squared Investments. Alignd now plans to expand into maternity care and kidney disease – areas that have seen rising demand and high costs.
Since launching with a focus on palliative care, the business has partnered with numerous medical schemes, including GEMS, Fedhealth, Bonitas, and AECI Medical Aid Society.
More than 2.9 million scheme beneficiaries have access to palliative care benefits, with over 4,900 having been served directly.
Alignd believes there are opportunities to deliver more person-centred outcomes.
The investment also represents a significant milestone for the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellowship.
Sharon Dlomo, an Allan Gray Fellow and former investment professional at 3 Capital Ventures — Alignd’s first institutional funding partners — has joined Alignd to steward the strategic finance function.
“Alignd seeks out ‘win-win-win’ solutions by holding the needs of providers and funders alongside the voices of patients,” says Dlomo.
“What drew me in was this ability to hold tension in service of building sustainable healthcare systems — together with the experience, passion, and humanity of the people at Alignd.
“It is truly a privilege to be able to bring together the backing of E Squared, and the early investment made in me by the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, to make some contribution towards the Alignd growth story.”
Tshilidzi Matlala, chief portfolio officer at E Squared Investments, adds: “Alignd exemplifies what it means to create economic value and social impact in equal measure.
“As we celebrate a month dedicated to women, this investment affirms our belief in the power of women-led ventures to challenge entrenched systems and deliver bold, people-centred solutions.
“We are proud to partner with Alignd on this next phase of growth.
“Supporting women-led businesses is not merely a gesture for us – it is a deliberate, long-term investment strategy rooted in equity and inclusion.”
Alignd’s palliative care model has already demonstrated its ability to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, ease financial strain on families, and support overburdened providers.
While the immediate focus remains on South Africa, Alignd’s model has global relevance, especially in emerging markets where over-medicalisation, fragmented systems, and unaffordable care mirror many of the local challenges.
For E Squared, the investment reflects its founding mandate: to back purpose-led entrepreneurs building a more inclusive, prosperous, and sustainable South Africa.
