Startup Raises $12m To Deepen Growth In Pharmaceutical Sector

A healthtech startup that develops solutions to make Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain more efficient, Remedial Health, has secured $12 million in an equity and debt funding round to scale operations in Nigeria.

The funding will also support the delivery of targeted financial services to drive business growth across the country’s pharmaceutical sector.

Across Africa, 85 per cent of retail medicine purchases happen at micro-enterprises, typically neighbourhood pharmacies and Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs). For store owners, 90 per cent of their wholesale purchases happen in open markets that are largely unfit for consumables and medicines.

Store owners also have to endure expensive and time-consuming weekly order cycles that typically amount to two working days to access the inventory they need to stock their shelves.

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The $8 million Series A equity funding round was led by US-based venture capital firm, QED Investors and co-led by Ventures Platform, who have now invested in Remedial Health at every funding round since the pre-seed stage.

This investment also represents Ventures Platform’s first Series A investment. Ycombinator, Tencent and Gaingels also invested after participating in previous rounds. The $4 million debt funding was led by a consortium of local and international financial institutions.

Store owners can access more than 8,000 vetted products via the mobile app, with same-day delivery and inventory financing to minimise cash-flow friction for routine orders and maximise sales opportunities.

The startup also provides facility financing, payment solutions and inventory management solutions that makes it easier for store owners to run their business more efficiently and profitably.

For pharmaceutical manufacturers, Remedial Health provides an effective route-to-market for their products, as well as data-driven insights into local markets that can be leveraged for more effective planning and decision making.

This new funding will enable Remedial Health to deepen the reach of these services across Nigeria and deliver more game changing solutions to drive greater efficiency across the pharmaceutical value chain.

CEO and co-founder of Remedial Health, Samuel Okwuada, said: “We are delighted to have raised these funds, particularly with the wider context of the global funding downturn and the wide range of economic headwinds in Nigeria.

“Our continued growth has put us in a strong position to deliver our mission of creating a tech-enabled, pharmacy-centred healthcare network and we are looking forward to leveraging these funds to achieve more success.”

Partner, head of Africa, QED Investors, Gbenga Ajayi, said: “the success that Remedial Health has enjoyed to date is an indication of the market gap that exists, and the value they provide in providing effective holistic services to thousands of pharmacies across Nigeria. QED is particularly excited about the embedded financial services opportunities within the vertical — the ability to provide payments, embedded lending and other fintech solutions to this underserved but very crucial sector.

Founding partner of Ventures Platform, Kola Aina,  added that, “we are incredibly proud to have been part of Remedial Health’s journey since the earliest phase of the company’s development.

“This partnership exemplifies our mission to support category leaders before they become obvious. Remedial Health’s dedication to improving Nigeria’s pharmaceutical value chain is critical and their success in securing this $12 million funding demonstrates their remarkable growth and the management’s tenacity over the years.”