Lifestores Healthcare Raises A $3 Million Pre-Series A Round
The Nigerian health tech startup 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.
Lifestores Healthcare 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.
It’s an e-pharmacy platform that combines and digitizes pharmacies to make basic healthcare accessible and was founded in 2017 by Andrew Garza (COO) and Bryan Mezue (CEO)
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.
According to a report by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) more than 70% of the drugs prescribed in Nigeria were of subpar quality as of2022 The agency also pointed out that most Nigerians lacked access to high-quality healthcare.
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%. 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.