Health startup mPharma, which manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, has raised $17 million in its latest funding round.
The company also announced the appointment Helena Foulkes, former president of CVS, to its board. CVS is the largest pharmacy retail chain in the United States.
CEO of mPharma, Greg Rockson said it’s the latest round is “opportunistic” as the company looks forward to working with a development finance institution with deep roots in Africa like CDC.
“Bringing a DFI with extensive government contacts across Africa would improve our appeal and help strengthen our corporate governance because of the ESG [environmental, social and governance] rules under which they operate“, he said.
mPharma recently raised $9.7 million in its Series B and has so far raised about $40 million since 2015. The company is improving the efficiency of the pharmaceutical supply chains in African countries including Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya with its proprietary Vendor Management Inventory (VMI) system.
Helena Foulkes will be joining the mPharma board was at CVS for 25 years and will be using her expertise to help mPharma in its endeavor.
“The mission of mPharma to make pharmaceuticals more affordable and accessible is striking. CVS is well known in the US for its rewards loyalty program and using customer retail data to target promotions.” she said.
I’m interested in the different ways this young company can grow, they have their own chain, loyalty programs, there’s plenty of potential.”
Source: Quartz Africa
