- Yodawy, an Egyptian digital pharmacy startup, has received a $10 million investment from Ezdehar, a firm specialising in private equity and investment in small and medium-sized businesses.
- The investment, made through the Ezdehar 2 Mid-Cap Fund, a $175 million fund, gives Ezdehar a minority stake in the company and aims to help Yodawy grow in the healthtech industry.
- This news comes after Ezdehar reportedly planned to invest $50 million through the Ezdehar 2 fund in up to four medical, manufacturing, insurance, and retail companies by 2023.
Yodawy, founded in 2018 by Karim Khashaba (CEO), Sherief El-Feky, and Yasser AbdelGawad, provides online medication prescriptions and ordering. The company, which automates insurance for insurers, allows insurance companies to automate up to 80% of their patient services.
Yodawy claims it serves about 35 health insurance and healthcare service providers, who have agreements with more than 800 companies, 20 hospitals, and 30 clinics.
Additionally, the healthtech says it collaborates with 3,000 pharmacies in Egypt that offer services for chronic and non-chronic illnesses. The company has filled over 6 million prescriptions since its launch five years ago.
Khashaba says the company will use the new funding and partnership with its investor to reduce healthcare costs and increase patients' access to healthcare services.
Yodawy raised an additional $16 million in Series B funding in February 2023 to extend its operations outside Egypt into the Middle East and Africa. It came after the online pharmacy secured $7.5 million in Series B funding in 2021 to strengthen its network of pharmacies, insurance companies, and patients and to expand into new markets.
Additionally, the healthtech startup said it'd use the additional funding to support its Care Programme, which provides enrolled patients with periodic refills. Meanwhile, in 2019, it raised $1 million in Series A funding to support its launch.
Healthtech is a rapidly growing sector of the medical industry worldwide, and it is also thriving in Egypt. Ezdehar's acquisition of a minority stake in Yodawy underscores the company's entry into Egypt's digital healthcare market, which is expected to reach $877 million in 2024 and $1,500 million by 2028.
