AAFC Group, a US-based investor in asset-backed financing solutions in emerging markets, has invested an additional $9.5 million in EASE, bringing the healthcare equipment financing platform's total equity funding to $24 million.

The investment adds to an existing $14.5 million capital pool and will support EASE's expansion in South Africa and Ghana, where the company provides hospitals, clinics and specialist practices with access to advanced medical equipment through flexible financing arrangements.

Combined with existing debt facilities, the additional equity will enable EASE to expand its installed base of diagnostic imaging equipment, surgical robots and other medical technologies.

EASE operates an equipment-as-a-service model that allows healthcare providers to access medical devices without the substantial upfront capital expenditure associated with purchasing them.

Through pay-per-use and managed-equipment-service arrangements, the company provides equipment alongside maintenance, technical support and upgrades, allowing healthcare facilities to treat equipment costs as operating expenses.

The platform also uses artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to monitor equipment utilisation and performance.

“EASE is addressing a structural constraint across healthcare markets: providers need access to increasingly sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic technology, but the equity-to-debt ratios most banks would like to see on a hospital's balance sheet makes the true total cost of ownership of advanced medical equipment very high,” said Frans van Schaik, CEO of AAFC Group.

“As healthcare technology becomes increasingly AI-enabled, and advances accelerate, that challenge becomes more acute. EASE provides a cost-effective solution that allows providers to keep pace with continuously evolving technology.”

In South Africa, EASE has deployed equipment across hospitals, clinics and specialist practices and secured lending arrangements with the country's two largest banks.

The company has also established partnerships with medical equipment manufacturers including GE, Siemens and Intuitive.

Its installations include two surgical robots, located in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, and a PET-CT scanner in Rustenburg.

EASE has identified South Africa as a base for its broader African expansion and is seeking to appoint a managing director for its local operations, alongside strengthening its board of non-executive directors.

In Ghana, the company has installed an MRI scanner in Akwatia and diagnostic imaging equipment, including CT scanners, in Accra.

“This investment marks an important step in building a replicable healthcare infrastructure platform—one that enables providers to deliver more diagnoses and treatments, while helping more patients access the care they need,” said Kanyinsola Oyeyinka, CEO of EASE.

“With the additional capital, we can now bring high-value equipment into more hospitals and clinics, and enable them to keep pace with AI and other medical technology advances.”

The new funding will support further deployments across diagnostic imaging, minimally invasive surgical equipment and specialist treatment technologies, including MRI, CT and PET-CT scanners, surgical robots and linear accelerators used in radiotherapy.

EASE is also evaluating opportunities in additional markets, including India, although expansion into new regions is expected to be supported through separate financing rounds.