$16 M Series B funding received by Egyptian digital healthcare startup Yodawy
Yodawy, an Egyptian digital healthcare startup that uses technology, knowledgeable pharmacists, and cutting-edge logistics to pioneer a pharmaceutical benefits management platform in the MENA region, has secured US $16 million in the first close of its Series B financing.
Yodawy, which was founded in 2018, enables its partners, including insurance companies, hospitals, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical and FMCG firms, to serve a larger clientele and give patients an exceptional customer experience throughout all of Egypt.
The firm established a flagship e-prescription gateway that enables doctors to go paperless, and it has also built a national fulfillment infrastructure powered by technology to reach patients throughout Egypt.
Over four million prescriptions have been handled through Yodawy’s platform to date, and in the 18 months since its Series A funding, the business has increased revenue by 400% and worked with 20 of Egypt’s top health insurance providers, 3,000 pharmacies, and more than 300 corporate entities.
The first close of its Series B raised US $16 million, bringing the total amount raised to US $24.5 million. The round was co-led by Global Ventures, an international venture capital firm based in the UAE that invests throughout MEA, and Delivery Hero Ventures, the venture capital arm of the leading global food delivery platform Delivery Hero.
The round also included previous investors Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), C-Ventures, and P1 Ventures, as well as AAIC Investment and Dallah Albaraka.
The money raised will be used to expand Yodawy’s renowned Care Programme for Chronic Patients, which processes daily countrywide delivery to 38 cities in Egypt and provides registered patients with monthly prescription refills. In order to better serve a patient base that is quickly expanding, the business will keep automating its operations, allowing for more efficient prescription processing. It will also strengthen its current tech-enabled fulfillment capabilities. Yodawy will also ring-fence a portion of the earnings to fund its regional development outside of Egypt.
“We are absolutely thrilled to receive the support of leading global investors with such strong healthcare and technology expertise. Yodawy is disrupting how prescriptions are produced digitally, by doctors, processed by payers, and delivered to patients’ homes,” said Karim Khashaba, co-founder and CEO of Yodawy.
“Our focus on products that solve fundamental challenges in the sector has enabled the company to become the leading digital pharma powerhouse in Egypt and the partner of choice for insurance companies and payers at large. Yodawy will continue to invest heavily in building one of the most inclusive and sophisticated pharma value chains across the Middle East and Africa’s US$100 billion pharma market.”
The founding team of Yodawy has a clear ambition to revolutionize the pharmaceutical sector throughout the MENA area, according to Brendon Blacker, managing partner at Delivery Hero Ventures. This is why his organization was drawn to Yodawy.
“With its innovative business model and rapidly growing customer base, Yodawy is ideally positioned to impact the lives of millions of people who have been underserved by traditional healthcare providers. As an incoming member of the Yodawy board, I look forward to supporting the team on their journey to build a world-class digital healthcare platform,” he said.