mPharma, the Ghanaian healthtech startup, has raised a $35 million Series D funding. The investment is made up of $30 million in equity and $5 million in debt from CitiBank, bringing the total amount raised by mPharma to $65 million.
Investors that participated in the round include JAM Fund, Unbound, and Lux Capital. Other investors include Northstar, Social Capital, Novastar, and TO Ventures.
The new funding will be used to build the startup’s data infrastructure, triple its talent pool over the next three years, and support expansion plans in its current and new markets. It is also launching an e-commerce platform for pharmaceuticals.
mPharma plans to grow its community (Mutti) pharmacies across eight markets in Africa to be the first point of care for patients. The startup’s Mutti pharmacies are essentially mini-hospitals offering a wide range of services including medical consultation, diagnostic and telehealth services. All these while increasing access and affordability to quality medication.
Starting in Ghana, the Mutti online pharmacies are initially only dispensing over-the-counter medication, but with plans to include prescription drugs in the near future.
Founded in 2013 by Gregory Rockson, Daniel Shoukimas, and James Finucane, mPharma manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, retail pharmacy operations and provides market intelligence to hospitals, pharmacies, and patients.
Last year (2021), mPharma made two acquisitions in Uganda and Ethiopia. It acquired a 55% stake in Uganda’s Vine Pharmacy and launched in Ethiopia by signing a franchise agreement with Belayab Pharmaceuticals through its subsidiary, Haltons Limited.
Commenting, Rockson said: “We are hiring over 100 engineers to build all our technology in-house and this includes a massive data infrastructure we are creating. We are also investing in other skilled talent like doctors and nurses, professionals that are critical in the work we do.
“Bloom our pharmacy management software will allow us to build structured population health datasets that enable Mutti pharmacies to provide better care pathways to the community they serve.”
