mPharma is building a network of community pharmacies across Africa as it plans to be the go-to primary healthcare service provider for millions of people residing in the region.
mPharma wants to grow its community pharmacy in eight markets in Africa to be the first point of care for patients. The startup's mini-hospitals are essentially mini-hospitals and offer a wide range of services. Increasing access and affordability to quality medication is one of these.
After raising $35 million in a Series D round, the startup has set out to expand its reach and build out its tech infrastructure.
The new funding will be used to build the startup's data infrastructure, triple its talent pool over the next three years and support expansion plans in its current and new markets. It is also rolling out an online pharmacy.
Over 100 engineers are being hired to build all our technology in-house and we are creating a massive data infrastructure. Rockson said that they are investing in doctors and nurses who are critical to the work they do.
He said that the pharmacy management software would allow them to build structured population health datasets that would enable them to provide better care pathways to the community they serve.
The total amount raised by mPharma is $65 million, with $30 million in equity and $5 million in debt from CitiBank.
The investors that participated in the round include JAM Fund, a venture capital firm founded by the co-founder of dating app Tinder, Unbound, a growth investment firm by Shravin Mittal, and the first investment in Africa for Lux Capital. Other investors include Social Capital.
Rockson, Daniel, and James founded mPharma in order to manage prescription drug inventory and provide market intelligence to hospitals and patients.
After the Covid pandemic, the startup added a new service called telehealth, which is a form of telehealth. Rockson said in an interview with TechCrunch that the startup was planning to have 100 virtual centers by the end of the year. The number of virtual centers is expected to grow even more as mPharma plans to increase the number of community pharmacies by 10 times over the next three years.
Patients in countries where mPharma has a presence can now use the virtual services.
Community health outreaches are conducted by mPharma community pharmacies. The photo was taken by mPharma.
mPharma brings vital services closer to communities through a variety of channels, including the pharmacy and community health checks.
The World Health Organisation data shows that sub-Saharan Africa has an average of 0.23 doctors for every 10,000 people against the best ratio of 84.2 doctors in some of the most developed countries.
The healthcare infrastructure is critically underdeveloped.
The closest thing to a pharmacy is in the community, and that's what Covid showed us. The pharmacy of the future is built around longitudinal care, not episodic care, according to Rockson.
Community pharmacies are being transformed into the foundation of a modern health system in Africa. We will have a pharmacy in every community. To create the largest network of doctor offices and diagnostic centers, guarantee the availability and safety of medicines for each community, and utilize the physical infrastructure of Mutti pharmacies.
mPharma launched an online pharmacy a few weeks ago that allows its members to shop for pharmaceutical products. They are only selling over-the-counter medication at the moment, with plans to include prescription drugs in the future.
mPharma has embarked on a number of expansion strategies in recent months. It acquired a majority stake in Uganda's Vine Pharmacy a few months ago. In March last year, it entered Ethiopia through a franchise agreement with Belayab Pharmaceuticals.
The board of mPharma has two members who are well-known in the pharmaceutical industry: Daniel Vasella, ex-CEO and chairman of Novartis, and former president of the largest pharmacy retail chain in the U.S., Helena Foulkes. CDC Group is one of the startup's investors.
