DrugStoc, a Nigerian-owned digital healthcare platform, has announced the closure of $4.4 million in Series A funding to grow access to quality medicines and tackle supply chain financing for healthcare providers in parts of Africa.
Africa Healthcare Master Fund (AAIC) led the funding round while participation came from Chicago-based venture capital firm Vested World, and the German Development Bank (DEG).
Chibuzor Opara, co-founder, and CEO of DrugStoc says the funding will enable the company to expand and launch new tech-based products in more African countries where pharmaceuticals are critically needed.
The pharmaceutical industry in Africa is projected to rise from $5.5 billion in 2007 in valuation to between $56 billion and $70 billion by 2030, according to a report by Goldstein Research. This will be driven by wider access to health products.
The industry in Africa currently suffers from a broken supply chain and chaotic distribution channels. DrugStoc in a statement, says this affects the delivery of quality medicines, affordability of Pharmaceuticals, and efficient healthcare delivery for health workers. Addressing this challenge requires innovation.
“Fragile and resource-challenged healthcare systems require a radically transformative set of market-based strategies to expand access to healthcare,” Opara said. “The DrugStoc way re-engineers the value chain digitally, improving and expanding access to healthcare at the same time.”
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DrugStoc was founded in 2017 by Chibuzo Opara and Adham Yehia as a cloud-based platform that provides healthcare providers with the interface for easy access to pharmaceuticals and healthcare products. This ensures that patients get quality medicines at affordable prices.
DrugStoc has seen almost 1500 percent growth in monthly sales since January 2018 for the past three years. The company claims 14 million people currently have access to genuine healthcare products through hospitals and pharmacies.
The latest funding round would help DrugStoc to reach about 100 million people. It plans to achieve this by expanding its supply chain infrastructure both digitally and physically.
Digital expansion will see DrugStoc build out its tech solutions to boost access and accommodate more partners as it extends coverage beyond Lagos. DrugStoc will also build on its partnerships with financial institutions such as Sterling Bank, to increase access to sustainable supply chain financing.
“We are very excited to be part of the DrugStoc journey. The pharmaceutical market in Africa has enormous growth potential and we are glad to back a company well-positioned to be a key player in the sector’s growth in sub-Saharan Africa,” Nobuhiko Ichimiya, Director at AAIC said.
DrugStoc was incubated under Stanford’s Institute for Innovation in Developing Economics in 2016. In 2019, it made the shortlist as one of ten finalists for the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative, Jack Ma’s flagship entrepreneur program in Africa. The company won the award for the Technology Enabled Distributor of the Year at the Nigeria Health Excellence Award in 2019 and 2021.
“DrugStoc has demonstrated impressive growth and the ability to improve healthcare providers’ access to pharmaceuticals in Nigeria. I am excited to support DrugStoc’s innovative work building a reliable, resilient, and high-quality pharmaceutical supply chain across Africa. I am confident that DrugStoc will succeed in making a critical healthcare difference that will help save lives,” said Liam O’Connor, who is among a group of individual Silicon Valley investors.
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