JOHANNESBURG, November 2, 2026 — EASE Holdings BV has raised $9.5mn in fresh equity funding to expand access to artificial intelligence-enabled medical imaging equipment and robotic surgery systems in South Africa and Ghana, as healthcare providers seek alternatives to the high cost of purchasing advanced medical technology.
The Netherlands-based medical equipment financing company said on Monday that the investment, provided by US-based AAFC Group Inc, increased its total equity capital to $24mn and would support the deployment of additional diagnostic and treatment equipment across its African operations.
The financing will be combined with existing debt facilities to expand EASE’s portfolio of medical equipment, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, computed tomography (CT) systems, positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scanners, surgical robots and radiotherapy equipment.
EASE operates an equipment-as-a-service model that allows hospitals, clinics and specialist medical practices to access expensive technology through pay-per-use or managed-service agreements rather than purchasing the equipment outright.
The arrangements typically include maintenance, technical support and equipment upgrades, allowing healthcare providers to treat the costs as operating expenses instead of committing substantial upfront capital.
The company said the approach could help medical institutions adopt increasingly sophisticated diagnostic and treatment technologies, particularly as artificial intelligence becomes more widely integrated into medical imaging and surgical systems.
Kanyinsola Oyeyinka, chief executive of EASE, said the investment would enable the company to expand healthcare infrastructure and improve access to advanced medical services.
“This investment marks an important step in expanding our healthcare infrastructure platform, which enables providers to deliver more diagnoses and treatments, while helping more patients access the care they need,” Oyeyinka said.
“We can now bring more high-value equipment to our customers and enable them to keep pace with AI and other technology advances.”
The company is targeting at least $20mn in new medical equipment installations in South Africa during 2027, working with major domestic banks and international equipment manufacturers.
The planned expansion follows initial deployments in South Africa and Ghana, where EASE has begun establishing its managed-equipment model.
In South Africa, the company has deployed surgical robotic systems in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, alongside a PET-CT scanner in Rustenburg.
In Ghana, installations include an MRI scanner in Akwatia and CT scanners in the capital, Accra.
The deployments are intended to improve access to diagnostic imaging and advanced surgical procedures while reducing the financial burden associated with acquiring and maintaining medical equipment.
Advanced imaging systems and robotic surgical platforms can require substantial capital investment, creating financing challenges for healthcare institutions seeking to modernise their facilities.
For hospitals and specialist clinics, equipment ownership also involves maintenance expenses, technical upgrades and the risk of technological obsolescence as newer systems enter the market.
EASE’s financing model seeks to address these constraints by retaining responsibility for equipment provision and associated services while allowing healthcare operators to pay according to usage or agreed service arrangements.
Frans van Schaik, chief executive of AAFC Group Inc, said conventional bank financing requirements made advanced medical technology difficult for healthcare providers to acquire.
“EASE is addressing a structural constraint: providers need access to increasingly sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic technology, but the equity-to-debt ratios banks require make advanced medical equipment very expensive to own,” van Schaik said.
“As healthcare technology becomes increasingly AI-enabled, that challenge becomes more acute. EASE provides a solution that allows providers to keep pace.”
The investment reflects growing interest in financing models that separate access to medical technology from equipment ownership, particularly in markets where healthcare providers face constraints on capital expenditure.
By financing the acquisition and management of equipment, service providers such as EASE aim to enable hospitals to expand diagnostic and treatment capacity without assuming the full financial obligations associated with ownership.
The approach could also help healthcare institutions adopt new technologies more frequently as medical imaging and surgical systems become increasingly dependent on software, automation and artificial intelligence.
EASE said its South African operations would undergo a management expansion to support the planned increase in installations.
The company intends to broaden the board of EASE South Africa and has appointed Wynand du Plessis of executive recruitment firm Mindcor-InterSearch to lead the search for a managing director.
The recruitment process comes as the company prepares to increase its commercial activities and develop relationships with healthcare providers, financial institutions and equipment manufacturers.
Beyond South Africa and Ghana, EASE is assessing opportunities in other emerging markets, including Morocco, India and Malaysia.
The potential expansion would extend the company’s business model into additional healthcare markets where access to capital-intensive medical equipment can present challenges for hospitals and specialist providers.
However, EASE did not disclose a timetable for entering those markets or the amount of investment that could be allocated to each country.
The company also did not specify how much of the new $9.5mn equity investment would be directed towards South Africa compared with Ghana, or provide details of the size and terms of its existing debt facilities.
The $20mn South African installation target for 2027 represents planned equipment deployments rather than a revenue forecast.
The company’s expansion plans will depend on securing hospital customers, equipment supply agreements and financing arrangements to support the installation and operation of additional medical systems.
For South Africa and Ghana, the investment could provide healthcare institutions with another route to acquiring advanced diagnostic and treatment capabilities without the substantial upfront costs of conventional equipment ownership.
The financing also highlights the potential role of asset-backed investment in expanding healthcare infrastructure, as medical providers seek to modernise services while managing capital constraints and the increasing cost of technology.
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