The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
mPharma
mPharma is eliminating inefficiencies in the pharmaceuticals supply chain across Africa. These inefficiencies lead to consumers paying up to three times as much as patients in western countries. After food, medicines make up the largest family expenditure for most developing countries. This leads to patients’ inability to buy the drugs they need when they need them. mPharma solves this by sourcing and procuring medicines and stocking pharmacies across Africa at no cost to the pharmacies. They negotiate lower prices with the best manufacturers and also provide flexible payment options for patients. Currently operating in five African countries, they manage inventory for a network of over 200 pharmacies and serve more than 40,000 patients each month.
LifeBank
Two-thirds of the world’s maternal deaths per year occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these are preventable, and many are partly due to a shortage of blood supplies. LifeBank was founded by Temie Giwa-Tubosun to deliver much-needed medical products such as blood, blood products, oxygen and vaccines to hospitals across Africa. They have partnered with Google to cut down delivery time to less than 45 minutes using Google Maps and, since 2016, have moved over 12,000 units of blood to hospitals and screening centres, thereby saving almost 5,000 lives.
Sendy
Sendy is a parcel delivery service that operates across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and links more than 1,000 delivery drivers to customers. The service is used by over 5,000 businesses and 50,000 individuals to make deliveries which are insured and can be tracked in real-time from a mobile app. This leads to greater efficiency and reduced costs as it leverages a network of otherwise informally employed motorcycle, pickup, van and truck drivers. It also recently launched a freight service for domestic cargo transport.
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This article is part of the World Economic Forum on Africa
Jonathan Hursh is Founder and Executive Producer, Utopia and Emmanuel Adegboye is Managing partner, Utopia Lagos
