Kenyan online pharmacy MYDAWA raises $20m, acquires Ugandan pharmacy chain stores

To keep providing inexpensive healthcare delivery to people, MyDAWA,  a Kenya-based health-tech startup operating an online pharmacy, has raised $20 million from Alta Semper Capital, a private equity firm. This heralds Alta Semper’s entry into Africa’s digital healthcare space via the Eastern region.

Additionally, MYDAWA shared that it had acquired a chain of pharmacy stores called Guardian Health. MYDAWA revealed that this is part of a strategy to enter foreign markets through acquisitions, collaborations, etc. Guardian Health currently has a network of 19 pharmacy stores in Kampala and other areas in Uganda, making it a right fit for MYDAWA’s expansion drive.

The company also announced that a former manager of Glovo Kenya, Priscilla Muhiu, will now head the health-tech startup as it looks to venture into other countries,

The state of basic healthcare in many African countries has been dismal for many years. This unfortunate trend has inspired many startups to enter the sector, designing unique products to improve the status quo. Established in 2016 with a mandate to ensure people can easily access healthcare products and services,  MyDAWA is one of those startups. 

Visitors to its website can book consultations, upload HIV test results, submit a prescription, learn about sexual wellness, and much more. It can offer these using an in-house technology-driven solution. There’s also a round-the-clock help desk meant to help patients with matters they’re uncertain about. 

Commenting on her company’s decision to invest in MYDAWA and by extension digital healthcare in Africa, CEO Afsane Jetha explains that Alta Semper Capital would prioritize market-leading businesses in highly diversified, politically stable, and fast-growing economies.

“MYDAWA was the logical choice for us as their groundbreaking technology, underpinning a scalable business model along with regulatory know-how and market entry experience mapped so well to our own strategy.”

Asfane Jetha

According to her, the startup remains committed to its mission of expanding access to health and wellbeing services in Africa. 

Read also: Tech-enabled healthcare platform, CloudClinic, unveiled in Lagos

MYDAWA’s other business moves 

MYDAWA isn’t a newcomer to the fundraising scene as it has successfully attracted investments on multiple occasions in the past. In 2019, the Kenya health-tech startup raised $3 million from the Africa HealthCare Masterfund. The investment was to enable it to continue its mission of reaching more counties with affordable medicines and healthcare products.

Two years later, it received a $1.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which was intended to expand the startup’s e-pharmacy offerings by including Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services. For context, PrEP is a medicine that people most likely to contract HIV take. Still on sexual health, MYDAWA kickstarted a telehealth platform that would serve the needs of those seeking to purchase PrEP online.