Kazakh Founders Launch Doctor Consultation Service for Just 1,000 Tenge. Here’s How It Works
Nurali Ismagulov and his business partner have been building Metaclinic.kz, a digital medical clinic on your phone, for the past year and a half in Kazakhstan. In the summer of 2025, the project was valued at $2 million and secured $150,000 in investment.
As part of the joint project «100 Startup Stories of Central Asia» by Digital Business and Astana Hub, Nurali shared why more and more people in Kazakhstan are turning to online healthcare, which types of doctors are featured and most in-demand on the platform, and how AI can help improve the country’s healthcare system.
«The doctor said the administration doesn’t tolerate that kind of thing»
— I started out building a career in the corporate world. I spent a few years leading marketing at the UMC network of medical centers, then moved to Beeline Kazakhstan, where I was in charge of the e-commerce division.
The idea for a digital clinic came from personal experience. Because of chronic health issues, my family and I had to see doctors pretty often. One time, I asked a doctor if we could do the consultation over WhatsApp. He said yes but warned me that the hospital administration could get him in trouble for it.
That’s how the idea to legalize online medical consultations came about. Back in 2018, I had already worked on introducing telemedicine, but at the time, neither the market nor the legal framework was ready for it. Now things have changed, so we launched the company and became a resident of Astana Hub.
— Who’s behind the project? Do you have a big team?
— There are two co-founders, and both of us come from the private healthcare sector. My background is in building digital businesses, marketing, and product development. My partner handles medical operations and clinical workflows, since we also run our own offline clinic.
The team currently has 6 people. Regardless of formal titles or payment terms, all of them, including the developers, are basically working with us full-time as a single in-house team.
Of course, it’s not enough. We need to grow and bring more people on board, and to be honest, I’m not a big fan of the outsourcing model. But at this stage of the startup, it makes sense. Contract specialists are more affordable and help us move faster with execution.
«For 1,000 tenge, you can get a 15-minute consultation»
— How does Metaclinic work? For example, what do I need to do if I want to get a consultation with a doctor?
— You just go to our website, metaclinic.kz, and choose a doctor based on what issue you're dealing with. If you're not exactly sure what the problem is, it's best to start with a general practitioner or therapist.
To make it easier for people to get started, we set a symbolic price of 1,000 tenge for a 15-minute consultation with an on-call therapist or pediatrician. Doctors are available almost instantly, usually within 10 minutes of booking. A standard online consultation typically costs between 5,000 and 10,000 tenge, depending on the doctor’s specialty and qualifications.
So here's how it works. The patient picks a doctor and a convenient time slot, pays for the appointment, and then connects at the scheduled time. After the consultation, the doctor can send an official medical report, which makes our service a fully legitimate remote healthcare solution.
That’s the key feature of Metaclinic. All our doctors have up-to-date medical certifications, and the partner clinics they work through are fully licensed. We make it a point not to work with freelance doctors who consult privately. Without a valid medical license and a certified clinic behind them, that kind of practice isn’t legally legitimate.
— Is payment for consultations one-time only?
— We recently launched a subscription model, where clients and their family members get a certain level of access to doctors based on the plan they choose. For example, with our standard package at 12,000 tenge per month, one adult and one child get unlimited consultations with general practitioners and one consultation with a specialist.
The subscription option actually came from the patients themselves. A lot of them see doctors regularly and were asking for a way to pay up front, so they wouldn’t have to enter their card details every time.
We also offer corporate plans. It’s basically the same subscription model, but paid for by the employer. It works a lot like health insurance and is a great alternative for companies whose employees work remotely or on rotation, where there’s no easy access to clinics.
— How are you monetizing Metaclinic, and is the project already profitable?
— We take a commission from one-time consultation payments as well as from subscriptions. The unit economics are positive in both cases. I can't give exact numbers right now, since things are shifting with new partners coming on board. But even back when we were growing on our own, we were already hitting market benchmarks. The cost of acquiring a customer was several times lower than the revenue we made from them, even after paying doctors and covering all operating expenses.
A month ago, the project reached operational break-even. Now that we’re covering our day-to-day expenses, the next goal is to become fully profitable within the next six months, taking into account our new revenue structure.
«An elderly doctor from an aul managed to more than double her income»
— How can a doctor join the platform?
— Once we receive an application from a doctor, we run a strict compliance check. We verify their diploma and confirm the validity of their medical certificate through the E-license portal to make sure their work complies with Kazakhstani law. After that, we sign the contract online through one of our partner clinics.
Once the paperwork is complete, the doctor moves on to the training stage. Before they start working with real patients, we walk them through our standards and run test consultations. These can be done by our team or even by mystery shoppers. At this stage, we closely track key metrics: how quickly the doctor joined the call, how long the consultation lasted, and what rating they received. Only after successfully completing this process do they officially go live on the platform.
After that, doctors can set their available time slots and start accepting patients. They decide their own schedule and consultation fees. We also have on-call doctors who get a fixed payment for their time plus a bonus for each consultation. These specialists work according to a set schedule, which helps us meet our SLA (Service Level Agreement — note by Digital Business) and guarantee that patients receive a consultation within 10 minutes.
— Why would doctors want to offer online consultations?
— The main motivation is definitely income and transparency. With Metaclinic, doctors can legally offer consultations without worrying about bureaucracy or various deductions. Our partner clinics handle all of that, including tax payments.
On top of that, doctors earn less in offline settings because the cost of services includes things like rent, admin, and clinic operating expenses. With online consultations, those overheads don’t exist, so the doctor’s share of the revenue is higher.
Also, about a quarter of our doctors are women on maternity leave. They can’t return to work at a clinic just yet, but they don’t want to lose their skills or income either. The remote format is a perfect fit for them. For example, some of our doctors set aside just one hour a week for online work, with two 30-minute consultation slots.
We’ve had a few cases that I’m genuinely proud of. One example is an older doctor working in a remote village who, just a month after joining the platform, managed to more than double her income. It’s a great story because usually we just see numbers in the stats. But in this case, she reached out personally to say thank you. Moments like that are really motivating. They show that we’ve built a service that’s clear and accessible even for senior professionals.
— How many doctors are currently working through Metaclinic? And are you satisfied with how the platform is growing?
— Right now, we have around 370 doctors in our system, with 100 to 150 of them actively offering consultations each day. So far, just over 3,000 unique patients have used our service.
To be honest, the pace of onboarding new doctors has been slower than we expected. But that was a deliberate decision. Instead of chasing volume, we’ve spent the past six months focusing on efficiency, and the results have been strong. Our key metric — LTV, or Lifetime Value — is going up. Right now, the goal isn’t just to attract users, but to keep them. We want both patients and doctors to stick around and keep bringing value over the long term.
«People just don't have time to keep up with their health»
— Do you see growth potential in Kazakhstan for people’s treatment services?
— Absolutely. It’s directly tied to urbanization. City residents have less and less free time because of traffic and busy schedules.
The second factor is the overall rise of digital services that are making life easier for people in Kazakhstan. This trend is touching every industry, and healthcare is still wide open for improvement. Even if you leave out the public healthcare system and mandatory medical insurance, there’s still a lot of room for growth in the private sector, especially when it comes to the patient experience.
— Do people in Kazakhstan actually trust a doctor on a screen?
— It depends on the person. Explaining how an online service works is a lot harder with older people than with younger, urban users.
As a startup, we’re focused on attracting an audience that’s already familiar with digital tools. The kind of people who are likely to become early adopters. It’s also cheaper. Right now, we can’t afford to target “expensive” users who need long explanations. At the same time, I get that part of our job is being a disruptor. We have to educate the market, both doctors and patients.
And it’s encouraging to see we’re not alone in this. There are more and more similar startups and services popping up now, and even government pilot programs are being launched. At this stage, we don’t see them as competitors we need to fight for market share. On the contrary, we’re all helping to grow the digital healthcare market together. Every new project plays a part in educating the ecosystem and building the habit of seeking medical care online among people in Kazakhstan.
By the way, when it comes to doctors, things are a bit easier. Thanks to the pandemic, many of them are already familiar with online consultations, although a lot of those happen unofficially. That’s why they quickly understand how Metaclinic works and are happy to join the platform.
— What motivates people to seek medical help online?
— The main reason is lack of time. Interestingly, we initially thought distance would be the biggest factor. But the stats showed otherwise. Most of our clients are city residents. They have access to clinics, but they simply don’t have time to manage their health the traditional way. And when they get sick, they need quick help right then and there.
One group that really stands out is moms with young children. For them, getting out of the house can be difficult or even impossible. Online consultations are a perfect fit for their needs.
The third use case is a hybrid one, where patients move from offline to online. For example, you go to an in-person appointment, but there’s no need for a follow-up visit. Maybe you just need to clarify something with the doctor or go over your test results. That kind of thing can easily be done online. And in fact, the majority of our consultations are with therapists and pediatricians, which shows that most people come with general health questions.
«A digital clinic service fits seamlessly into larger ecosystems»
— How do you promote Metaclinic?
— We focus on three main channels when it comes to attracting patients. First, the doctors themselves. Over the past year, we’ve built a pool of loyal specialists who actively use the platform. They encourage patients to book follow-up appointments through Metaclinic and often dedicate one day a week to working fully remotely with us.
The second channel is traditional marketing tools, such as Google ads, targeting, and so on. We’re testing our campaigns in both major cities and more remote areas.
And the last source, which is especially important for us right now, is partnership networks. We recently completed an integration with a telecom operator, and now our service is available directly inside their app, where users can get an online doctor consultation.
We’re also about to launch a partnership with a major player in the fitness industry who wants to add healthcare to their product lineup. We’ve picked up on this growing demand from the market — digital companies in Kazakhstan are looking to build more ecosystem-driven solutions.
— What do you gain from these partnerships?
— The first goal is to expand our audience and clearly communicate the value of the product to the right customers. The second is more strategic. We see that a digital clinic service integrates really well into larger ecosystems. Partnerships also open the door to entirely new products. For example, we can bundle our online medical consultations with access to a fitness club.
«We’ll be testing the Uzbek market in the near future»
— What’s the total investment in the startup?
— We closed our latest funding round this summer, raising $150,000 at a $2 million valuation. In total, we’ve raised around $250,000 so far.
A significant part of the funds from our latest round went toward expanding the tech team so we could get ready for partner integrations.
Our next round of investment will go toward developing two separate apps, one for doctors and one for patients. We came to this decision through experience. It turned out that the web version on a computer wasn’t enough for many doctors, as they need mobility. We quickly adapted the current version for mobile use, but the plan now is to build fully standalone apps for both sides.
— Are you already looking for a new investment?
— Yes, but we’re looking at two strategic growth paths. First, we’re exploring a move into the B2B segment. There’s growing demand from large medical clinics that want deeper integration. They’re looking to go beyond basic telemedicine and connect it with in-person care.
The second path involves artificial intelligence and the large volumes of data being collected on the platform. I can’t go into too much detail yet, but broadly speaking, we’re exploring the idea of building an AI assistant for medical centers as a whole, not just individual doctors.
Right now, we’re testing both scenarios, and our future investment plans will largely depend on how those tests turn out.
— What are your thoughts on expanding into other markets?
— We’re planning to test the Uzbek market in the near future. The initiative actually came from outside. One of the major ecosystem players invited us to join as a partner for a joint pilot. Right now, we’re figuring out how to launch the process as quickly and efficiently as possible.
But our main focus remains on Kazakhstan. At this stage, it’s important for us to grow locally and keep improving the quality of the product.
— What’s your vision for Metaclinic, both mid-term and long-term?
— No matter which direction our startup takes, one thing will always stay at the center — the quality of medical care patients receive on the Metaclinic platform. That’s why we’re now working on using artificial intelligence to help monitor the quality of clinical decisions. The AI will analyze doctors’ decisions based on national clinical protocols and international medical guidelines.