Nigerian company PharmaRun, an online platform where users can find and order pharmaceutical products and services, with BNPL options, has emerged winner of this year’s edition of the US$10,000 Pitch2Win startup competition.
The annual competition is aimed at early-stage startups, with selected companies pitching to a judging panel consisting of Ventures Platform partner Kola Aina, TLcom Capital partner Eloho Omame, SG Verse founder Hiro Mashita, Freakout Holdings founder Yuzuru Honda, and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority CIO Kola Owodunni.
PharmaRun emerged the overall winner. Founded in 2021 by Teniola Adedeji and Funmilola Aderemi, the startup aims to eliminate the barriers facing traditional pharmacies, which often run out of stock and force customers to buy alternatives.
“This was our first time pitching to an audience so it is amazing that we won. It’s given us validation that this is a product that is scalable and we are onto something. Having to compete with founders that are well-known yet we won? It’s amazing,” said Adedeji.
“We’re looking to raise US$500,000 for product development and customer acquisition and Pitch2Win is offering us visibility and access to investors. So we’re very thankful.”
Second-place was ZeroComplex AI, an AI startup that is simplifying the integration of AI into existing applications, while in third was Oystr Finance, a fintech startup that provides easy access to alternative financial data, creditworthiness, and identification verification of borrowers across Africa.
