French digital health insurance provider Alan has made its first foray into the African continent after acquiring Senegalese healthtech startup Tanel for an undisclosed sum.
The deal, which was completed in June, sees the Paris-headquartered firm absorb the Dakar-based company, expanding its footprint into Francophone West Africa.
Founded in 2021 by Mouhamed Ndoye and Makhtar Diop, Tanel digitised the traditional paper-based health insurance system in Senegal before expanding into neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire.
The startup currently provides coverage for around 70,000 individuals across more than 400 corporate clients and operates a network of 1,200 contracted clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies.
Rare exit outside Africa’s major tech hubs
The transaction bucks recent trends in African venture capital, where international corporate acquisitions have slowed, and activity remains heavily concentrated in the continent’s four main tech hubs: Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya.
Between 2011 and 2026, these four markets accounted for more than 80% of all disclosed exits across the continent, according to research by Ventures Platform and Stears.
Alan had previously participated in Tanel’s $2.1m (£1.6m) seed funding round in 2024 before approaching the founders with a buyout proposal earlier this year.
“There was a lot of alignment over the last few years,” said Mr Ndoye, who will stay on alongside co-founder Mr Diop to manage local operations. “We realised they are very similar in culture and similar in mission.”
The exit allows early backers—including Nigerian venture capital firm Ventures Platform and Japan’s AAIC Investment—to fully sell down their stakes.
Ambition for one million African members by 2030
The acquisition gives Tanel access to global reinsurance capacity, allowing it to underwrite larger corporate policies without relying solely on its own balance sheet.
Alan, which reported more than $927m in annual recurring revenue in early 2026 across operations in France, Spain, Belgium, and Canada, plans to introduce AI-driven preventative care tools to Tanel’s current user base.
The combined entities have set a target to reach one million members across the African continent by 2030, with future expansions planned for major English-speaking markets including Nigeria and Kenya, as well as additional Francophone nations.
“Technology can widen access to care at scale only when it is paired with teams that know their markets,” said Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, Alan’s co-founder and chief executive.
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