NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Tage Kene-Okafor

Africa’s $45 billion pharmaceuticals market is expected to grow 10% CAGR to $100 billion by 2030. Yet, the sector struggles with highly fragmented and undercapitalized supply chains rife with fake medications, which cause the death of thousands of patients yearly; in Nigeria, 20-40% of drugs are counterfeit. 

A handful of healthtech companies bring efficiency to Nigeria’s pharmaceutical supply chain issues; Lifestores Healthcare is one. In 2020, it raised a $1 million seed round, followed by its newly announced $3 million pre-Series A funding; the latter and oversubscribed round was led by Health54, with Aruwa Capital Management as a supporting lead and participation from other existing investors.

Pharmacies in Nigeria play an essential role in how people access medication in the country. Although some pharmacies enable self-diagnosis dealings among patients, they remain one of the cheapest options for getting healthcare. However, given the fragmentation and underdevelopment of resources in healthcare, pharmacies cannot perform to their optimal capabilities. These inadequacies lead to the high prevalence of fake medications as quality ones also become expensive and difficult to obtain.

Photo courtesy of psyberartist via Flickr.