Remedial Health, a Nigerian startup reshaping the pharmaceutical landscape, has amassed $12 million in a Series A equity-debt funding round. The funds aim to enhance operations within Nigeria, digitizing pharmacies and refining the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Prominent fintech VC firm, QED Investors, co-led the round, demonstrating faith in the potential for embedded financial services like payments and lending within the pharmacy sector. This investment marks QED’s third venture into Africa, having previously participated in the Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) and Flapkap deals in the past year. Ventures Platform also co-led the funding round, alongside participation from existing investors, including Y Combinator, Tencent, and Gaingels.
Pharmacies and hospitals can leverage Remedial Health’s platform to order pharmaceutical products from verified, trusted manufacturers and distributors. This not only helps stabilize prices but also curbs the circulation of fake or substandard products, a significant issue in Nigeria and Africa overall.
According to Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, approximately 15% of the medicine sold in the country is fake or substandard. This issue is even more poignant considering estimates by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, attributing half a million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa to substandard or counterfeit medicine.
Remedial Health, established by Samuel Okwuada (CEO) and Victor Benjamin (COO) in 2021, will utilize this fresh investment to expand its presence in Nigeria. Part of the funding, $4 million, will be used as debt financing to increase inventory financing.
The company, which currently boasts a considerable market share in at least half of Nigeria’s states, plans to increase its footprint by enlisting more pharmacies and hospitals, particularly in rural areas where demand is on the rise.
Since its inception, Remedial Health, an alumnus of Y Combinator, has grown to serve over 5,000 pharmacies and hospitals, tripling its client count since November of last year. The startup offers more than 8,000 products sourced from 300 manufacturers, including GSK, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca.
Stay tuned to Rwanda Tech News for more developments on this promising health tech startup.
