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.
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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”.
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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.
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