Pakistan-Based Online Pharmacy Startup Secures $8.5 Million Funding

[_NOBODY_]

The Karachi-based online pharmacy startup Dawaai has secured $8.5 million funding in a round led by the global venture capital firm 500 Startups and the existing Pakistan-based investor Sarmayacar.

The new investment is mainly comprised of equity and debt, and has taken its total financing to a remarkable $10.5 million.

The investment round also made way for some investors exiting (or partially exiting) the online pharmacy startup, which helped to recover some extra cash, according to the company.

Dawaai claims to have served more than 11 million people across Pakistan over the last seven years. The platform is currently active in 98 cities via numerous fulfillment centers across the country. The online pharmacy platform runs its very own logistical fleets in Lahore and Karachi, making 2-hour delivery runs in select areas.

While the startup has shown a remarkable growth of 350 percent in the last 12 months selling medicine on the go, its founder and CEO, Furquan Kidwai, revealed that the majority of the buyers/customers are chronic patients who use the platform to consult doctors and avail of health services like nursing, and book lab tests.

Kidwai said in a statement: "We are laser-focused on our mission to make healthcare accessible and affordable for the people of Pakistan and wider South Asia. The first step in achieving that is building the missing pharmaceutical supply chain infrastructure in the markers we operate and honing the next generation of talent to take our economies forward. This financing is enabling us to carry forward on our journey to make the lives of people better across the length and breadth of Pakistan, with a low-cost healthcare model for all Pakistanis".

He praised the efforts of his fellow team for helping Dawaai “continue to add more”.

Regarding the consultations, he remarked that “it is very encouraging to see that teleconsultations offered by Dawaai have grown to tens of thousands of monthly sessions in no time”.

Dawaai essentially plans to use the newfound investment to continue to revamp Pakistan’s pharmaceutical supply chain with textbook infrastructure and technology while simultaneously optimizing its business.

Pakistan-Based Online Pharmacy Startup Secures $8.5 Million Funding (propakistani.pk)

Existing investor Sarmayacar and two undisclosed family offices also participated in this equity and debt round. While the startup did not realise the breakdown between secondaries and equity, it commented that equity constituted a significant majority of the round, according to MENAbytes.

Dawaai was founded by Furqan Kidwai in early 2014 with the aim of disrupting Pakistan’s healthcare sector with its technology-enabled digital pharmacy services. The startup uses its web and mobile application to sell medicine, personal care items and medical equipment across Pakistan, and directly works with pharmaceutical companies to procure authentic medicine at cheaper rates for both B2B and B2C customers.

While Covid-19 continues to impact lives and livelihoods all across the country, demand for healthcare and pharmacy solutions has increased. While traditional pharmacies stores struggle with supply chain challenges and issues of counterfeit medicines, Dawaai is able to fulfil this excess demand through its online presence and one-stop pharmacy solutions.

In a previous interview with the Business Recorder, CEO and founder of Dawaai Furquan Kidwai also explained that the pandemic has led to an explosion of e-commerce across the world and these circumstances have contributed to a greater user acceptability of the digital space in Pakistan. He also added that Dawaai witnessed about 3 to 4x growth within the span of a few weeks of the pandemic.

The value of the pharmaceutical sector of Pakistan was estimated to be around $3.2 billion in 2020, doubling from $1.64 billion in 2011. With a local market of 215 million consumers and more than 700 pharmaceutical companies, this sector is also poised well for e-pharmacy startups like Dawaai to introduce new technology solutions for the customer base.

It is also important to note that Dawaai offers other telehealth services in addition to its e-pharmacy, and has a network of nurses and physiotherapists along with lab testing services for its consumer base in Pakistan.

Currently, the startup is in the process of launching its fifth warehouse and hopes to expand its operations in larger cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Pakistan’s Dawaai raises $8.5 million amid expansion plans - Business & Finance - Business Recorder (brecorder.com)

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[FOOLS_NIGHTMARE]

A very good initiative by a private enterprise, still a long way to go. I hope the likes of Amazon open distribution centres across Pakistan. E-commerce is the future, need to move into this sector on a war footing.

 

[Goenitz]

Good.Online commerce is a good thing.
but we need at least 2-3 stores of generic medicine in each city.. That would be a feat..

 

[VCheng]

Dawaai claims to have served more than 11 million people across Pakistan over the last seven years. The platform is currently active in 98 cities via numerous fulfillment centers across the country. The online pharmacy platform runs its very own logistical fleets in Lahore and Karachi, making 2-hour delivery runs in select areas.

These are the budding online giants of the Pakistan of the future, surely.

 

[_NOBODY_]

Good.Online commerce is a good thing.
but we need at least 2-3 stores of generic medicine in each city.. That would be a feat..

I was just about to summon you here.

 

[ghazi52]

Very encouraging. Now people are thinking out of box,
Nice going. Yes, it is a long way to go, but bright future ahead.