- Lifestores Healthcare, a Nigerian healthtech startup, has raised $3 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round.
- The round was co-led by Health54 and Aruwa Capital Management, and other existing investors participated.
- Lifestores will use the funding to expand in Nigeria, enhance its software, and target new client demographics. It will also grow its senior management, sales, and engineering teams.
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) reportedly stated in 2022 that more than 70% of the drugs prescribed in Nigeria were of subpar quality.
The agency also pointed out that most Nigerians lacked access to high-quality healthcare.
Perhaps, this is why Andrew Garza (COO) and Bryan Mezue (CEO) founded Lifestores Healthcare in 2017. It’s an e-pharmacy platform that combines and digitises pharmacies to make basic healthcare accessible.
While the company operates as a chain of retail pharmacies, its goal is to use technology to restructure the fragmented pharmaceutical retail market.
In 2020, the company pre-launched OGApharmacy, an online B2B pharmaceutical marketplace that offers pharmacies 10–20% group discounts and supply chain software.
A London-based non-profit organisation, Brazzaville Foundation, estimated that 120,000 Africans die yearly.
Besides, Punch reported that Nigeria, which ranks first among African nations in terms of the number of residents lost to fake pharmaceuticals each year, is also the most popular market for counterfeit goods in the developing world.
Consequently, Lifestores guarantees the safety of its drugs to its customers.
OGApharmacy claims it currently has more than 10% of Nigeria's pharmacies registered as clients and has had a monthly market increase of 25%.
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By 2023, Lifestores plans to quadruple the number of patients it reaches, from 100,000 to 400,000.
Lifestores will unveil new technology features as part of its B2B products and open a new processing facility in Lagos to spur growth. These features include pharmacy management software, AI-driven predictive ordering, advanced credit options, and patient management initiatives.
The company will also broaden its B2C offerings with trial projects in patient savings, care management, and pharmaceutical distribution.