Delhi-based healthcare venture HelpingDoc has raised Rs 10 crore in a Series A funding round from Singapore-based Senior Marketing Systems (SMS), in what seems to be a strategic investment for the company. The company will be using this investment to expand and strengthen its presence across cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai over the next 18-24 months and enroll over 20,000 doctors in the next two years. The funds will also be used to strengthen its field force and improve its technology backend. HelpingDoc founder and CEO Amit Bansal mentions that this investment will allow them to make use of Senior Marketing Systems's expertise in this field and also leverage potential synergies amongst other SMS investments across Asia. The company mentions that SMS has invested in several online healthcare ventures across countries like Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and Sri Lanka. These include Sri Lanka-based eChannelling PLC, Vietnam's Luvina Software and HSP (High Technology Services and Solutions), Japan's Pure Nurse & Nurscape and China's iHealth among others. Founded in November 2011 by Amit Bansal, HelpingDoc allows users to find and book appointments with doctors. One can choose a doctor based on location and other factors like specialty, medical problem, treatment and doctor's name. One can then sort the results depending on consultation fees, experience, distance and availability. Appointments can be booked directly via the website or via the HelpingDoc call centre. The company is currently operational in Delhi NCR and claims to have more than 4,000 registered doctors on the site. The Competition DocSuggest runs on a similar business…
