Health-tech startup, Remedial Health, has raised $12 million in Series A funding comprising $8 million equity and $4 million debt.
The company said the fund would be deployed to scale operations in Nigeria and support the delivery of targeted financial services to drive business growth across the country’s pharmaceutical sector.
The startup, which is digitizing pharmacies and bringing efficiency to the pharmaceutical value chain, said it would also prioritize increasing its penetration in the 34 states it currently operates in Nigeria by getting more pharmacies and hospitals signed up, especially in rural areas, where demand is growing.
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.
What they are saying
Speaking on the fundraising, 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.”
Commenting on the investment, QED Investors partner, and head of Africa, Gbenga Ajayi said:
- “The success that Remedial Health has enjoyed to date is an indication of the market gap that exists, and their value 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.”
Kola Aina, Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, also commented on the investment in Remedial Health saying:
- 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. Our investment in this round represents our continued belief in their mission to deliver financial services to neighbourhood pharmacies and drive deeper growth in the pharmaceutical sector.”
Founded by Samuel Okwuada (CEO), and Victor Benjamin (COO) in 2021, pharmacies and hospitals use Remedial Health’s platform to order pharmaceutical products sourced from reliable and trusted manufacturers and verified distributors.
This helps to stem erratic prices, and the supply of fake and substandard products that are behind thousands of preventable deaths in Nigeria, and Africa at large.
It also ensures proper handling of the products, which can’t be said of the open drugs market in Nigeria.
Competition
Remedial Health is not alone in the business of digitizing the sale of pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.
A major competition in this regard is Drugstoc, another Nigerian health-tech startup established in 2015 by Adham Yehia and Chibuzo Opara to help licensed hospitals, pharmacies, and medical experts obtain authentic pharmaceutical and healthcare products directly from certified distributors nationwide.
According to recent reports, Drugstoc currently serves over 3,000 doctors and pharmacists in the country, and it leverages the globally accredited end-to-end traceable supply chain to help guarantee the genuineness of its pharmaceutical and healthcare products.
