Nigeria’s Remedial Health, an e-health startup that develops solutions to make Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain more efficient, has secured US$12 million in an equity and debt funding round to deepen the penetration of its services in Nigeria and support the delivery of targeted financial services to neighbourhood pharmacies.
Launched in 2020 by Samuel Okwuada and Victor Benjamin, Remedial Health delivers a range of technology solutions that make it easier for healthcare providers to access affordable and genuine retail medicines, consumables and medical devices from manufacturers and distributors.
Last year, it took part in the Y Combinator accelerator programme, and raised both pre-seed and seed rounds of funding. Its US$8 million Series A equity funding round was co-led by US-based venture capital firm QED Investors and Ventures Platform, the latter of which has now invested in Remedial Health at every funding stage. Y Combinator, Tencent and Gaingels also invested after participating in previous rounds. The US$4 million debt funding, meanwhile, was led by a consortium of local and international financial institutions.
Remedial Health operates at the intersection of healthcare, supply chain management, technology and financial services, delivering the digital procurement infrastructure to power effective healthcare distribution for Africa’s 1.2 million pharmacies. Starting in Nigeria, Remedial Health has built an effective operating system for pharmaceutical buyers and suppliers, working with more than 300 manufacturers and serving more than 5,000 hospitals, pharmacies and PPMVs across 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states, with regional hubs to enable a seamless experience across the country.
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.
“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,” said Okwuada.
Gbenga Ajayi, partner and head of Africa at QED Investors, said the success the startup had enjoyed to date was an indication of the market gap that exists, and the value it provides.
“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,” he said.
“The Remedial Health team is perfectly positioned to solve this problem because of its unique positioning as a partner across the entire pharmaceutical value chain and the unique backgrounds of the founders as both seasoned phama operators and technology professionals. We are very excited to be on this journey and to support this next phase of the company and to bring our fintech DNA to bear in what is an already positive growth journey.”
Kola Aina, founding partner of Ventures Platform, said he was “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 US$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,” he said.
