Egypt’s Yodawy Raises USD 1 Mn In Series A Round

Yodawy, a medication ordering and pharmacy benefits platform has secured USD 1 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Algebra Ventures, a leading Egyptian VC firm and fintech-focused CVentures. Also participating in the round was ASI Ventures, an Egyptian angel investor firm.

The round is reportedly the first external investment secured by the Cairo-based startup.

Founded in 2018 by Karim Khashaba, Sherief El-Feky and Yasser AbdelGawad, Yodawy allows users to place orders, through a mobile application, for their medicines by uploading a photo of their prescriptions. Alternatively, users can get their medicines by using the platform’s in built search engine which will recognize the needed drug even with incorrect spellings entered. After placing the order, Yodawy works with a network of over 250K partner pharmacies close to the users, to have the medicines delivered.

Yodawy has additionally partnered with insurance providers and submits claims on behalf of the users. The medication if eligible, is then sent to the partner pharmacies, if the claim is approved.

Commenting on the occassion, Karim Khashaba, Yodawy’s co-Founder and CEO identified the incredible opportunity that lies in the pharmacy benefits and claims processing space.

“It’s an established business model in different parts of the world, with no real solution in the region. Consumers and insurance companies alike are absolutely desperate for a better value proposition. The region has come a long way over the past couple of years, but we still believe very little is being done to address deeper infrastructure gaps. This is where Yodawy is looking to create real impact,” he added.

Emad Fouad, the Managing Director of CVentures said, “Yodawy has the potential to become a leading digital pharmacy benefits platform in the region. It’s clear go-to-market addresses fundamental problems experienced by pharmacies, insurance companies and their respective customers, effectively adding significant value to all stakeholders. CVentures is excited at the prospect of working closely with Yodawy, and we look forward to helping the Founders achieve their vision and roll-out of additional innovative offerings.”

The investment is one of the several investments made by Algebra Ventures this year, after injecting funds into startups such as Trella, Orcas Solutions, Goodsmart and Dsquares.

Speaking on the funding, Karim Hussein, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures said, “Yodawy has a very promising team that is led by an experienced and resilient entrepreneur with strong product passion and an ability to attract good talent.”

“With their vision, strategy and the outstanding progress Yodawy has been able to deliver outstanding results in their first year of operations, Algebra is truly excited about this opportunity and confident in Yodawy’s ability to lead the digital transformation of the Healthcare sector in Egypt and the MENA region,” he added.

Notably, Yodawy is not the only Egyptian healthtech startup to raise a significant amount of funding in 2019. In August this year, Chefaa had raised a six-figure sum in a seed round led by 500 Startups.

Feature Image Courtesy: Fortinet