mPharma

Pharmaceutical supply chains in West Africa were fragmented and opaque. Pharmacies paid wildly different prices for the same drugs, stockouts were common, and patients often couldn't find or afford essential medicines. Drug manufacturers had no visibility into demand, leading to overproduction of some drugs and shortages of others.

mPharma created a drug subscription and inventory management platform that connects manufacturers directly to pharmacies. Their model buys drugs in bulk, negotiates lower prices, and manages pharmacy inventory through a cloud-based system. They also launched Mutti, a patient-facing app that helps people find the nearest pharmacy with their prescribed medication in stock and at a fair price.

Operates in 9 African countries with over 800 partner pharmacies. Reduced drug prices by an average of 30% for partner pharmacies. Raised $65M in Series D from investors including Noval and CDC. Manages inventory for pharmacies serving millions of patients annually.

Healthcare in Africa requires a full-stack approach — you can't just build software, you need to touch the physical supply chain. A pure SaaS model failed because pharmacies needed more than software; they needed working capital and reliable supply. The pivot to owning inventory was scary but necessary.