BuyMed, a Vietnamese B2B business that offers healthcare and personal care distribution network, has secured $8.8 million in a fresh round of investment headed by Smilegate Investment of South Korea.
Cocoon Capital, Sequia Surge, Genesia Ventures, B Capital, TSP Consulting, and Nexttrans contributed the remaining $3 million.
BuyMed’s co-founder and CEO Peter Nguyen stated that the funds would be used to develop a fully integrated e-commerce platform that will allow practitioners to find knowledgeable suppliers and have their medications, medical supplies, supplements, and other items delivered.
The business also aims to expand its app to include other medical services, such as financing options and a customer, patient, and prescription drug dealer management system. It will change Vietnam’s independent and mom-and-pop pharmacies into more network-oriented pharmacies.
BuyMed is also aiming to grow into new Southeast Asian markets.
Most pharmaceutical firms and brands have created their own distribution networks in the absence of an official multi-brand distributor, resulting in a fragmented distribution of medications and pharmaceuticals to medical institutions. “This situation is also happening in many Southeast Asian countries. So, we have many opportunities to explore,” stated Nguyen.
BuyMed, co-founded by Nguyen, COO Vu Vuong, and CPO Hoang Nguyen, intends to modernize Vietnam’s conventional distribution channels in order to help the country’s healthcare sector flourish. Thuocsi.vn, the company’s proprietary B2B platform, connects licensed distributors with healthcare providers, automating order matching and end-to-end logistics.
BuyMed established its nationwide distribution and fulfillment platform in Hanoi in January 2021, allowing it to distribute items across 63 provinces and cities. Over the previous 12 months, the firm claims to have grown fourfold, processing over 30,000 orders each month and shipping supplies and medications to over 16,000 pharmacies across Viet Nam.
There are now 1,000 suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers on the site.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, BuyMed permitted partners to sell online while also providing security measures including frequent office and warehouse cleaning, delivery, and continuing payment without having to contact them directly.
Despite the fact that its activities in Ho Chi Minh City have been hampered by the lockdown and a growing caseload, it is moving forward with fresh chances.
“The lockdown has caused those wholesale markets to shut down, so there are a lot of pharmacies in the country that don’t have medicine or don’t have a supply of medicines,” said Nguyen. “Therefore, we have become one of the main forces of medicine for a lot of pharmacies.”
The company has also expanded its operations in Hanoi, where it has been operating for over six months.
BuyMed also intends to expand its product offerings in the healthcare business, including cosmetics, medical equipment, and functional foods, as it moves closer to being a commercial site.
