mPharma Data Inc

Africa Health

mPharma is a company using technology and data to make medicine supply chains more efficient, and to make quality healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone in Africa. It currently operates in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia and Ethiopia, serving about a million patients every year through over 400 pharmacies.

  • Active
  • Exited

We are invested in mPharma Data Inc through Novastar Ventures Africa Fund II, which is managed by Novastar Ventures Limited.

We do not hold direct relationships with the companies that investment funds invest in. Instead, we hold relationships directly with the fund. When investing through investment funds, CDC takes an active role as a limited partner to the fund, working with the fund manager to ensure best practices, including in environment, social and governance matters, and investment management oversight.

For further information on the fund, the fund manager, and the expected impact of the fund’s investment, click here.

Key facts

Status:
Active
Region

Since 2012, we’ve only invested in Africa and South Asia. Investments outside these regions are from our pre-2012 portfolio.
:
Africa
Sector

We have seven priority sectors. However, we continue to invest outside these sectors, largely in the most challenging regions, as new investment supporting any sector helps to underpin the private sector, and create jobs and livelihoods for people.
:
Health
Investment type

We provide capital in three broad ways: direct equity, debt, and intermediated equity (principally through investment funds).
:
Intermediated investment
Fund:
Novastar Ventures Africa Fund II
Fund Manager:
Novastar Ventures Limited
Start date

For direct investments, this is the date CDC committed capital to the business or project.

For funds, this is the date that CDC committed capital to the fund.

For underlying fund investments, this is the date that the fund invested capital into the business.e
:
May 2019
Domicile

This is the investee company’s place of incorporation; or a fund’s jurisdiction.
:
USA

Our investment

We invested in the business alongside Novastar Ventures, a CDC-backed venture capital fund manager, to support the company in adding more pharmacies to its network, and developing a more efficient supply chain for pharmaceutical products across Africa.

Impact

Improve healthcare outcomes by improving accessibility and affordability to safe and high-quality medicines (SDG 3.8).
How?

Catalysing markets: Aggregating purchasing power across a highly fragmented market enabling efficiencies and bringing down costs.
Stakeholder Geography Characteristics
Patients

Current key markets: Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia and Ethiopia.

The company has a clear intent and ambition to reach the low-income mass market.
Scale Depth/Duration

The company’s ambition is to reach millions of patients by providing affordable and high-quality medicines and health services.
  • Improved affordability of medicines.
  • Better inventory availability for partner pharmacies.
  • Improved quality (currently 30 per cent of drugs in Africa are counterfeit).
  • Access to diagnostics at owned and partner pharmacies.
  • Increased access to primary care services.
Grid Score Contribution

This investment is made under an approved Catalyst Strategy, and therefore does not require a grid score.

To help us direct our investments, we use a tool called the Development Impact Grid. The Grid scores every investment we plan out of a score of four, based on two factors: the difficulty of investing in the country and whether investment in that sector will lead to jobs.
  • Financial: The commercial market does not offer capital in sufficient quantities to meet the company's plans / needs.
  • Value-add: CDC will support and safeguard’s mPharma’s developmental strategy.
Risk
  • Alignment: The impact case relies on the business’ ability to scale up in what remains a challenging and early-stage market.
  • Execution: Given the broad set of measures taken by the company during the accelerated COVID-related expansion (in processes, infrastructure and IT) as well as CDC’s continued effort around value-add governance activities, we have confidence the company can handle increased growth and international expansion.

Understanding each ‘Impact Dashboard’ (PDF)

Environmental and social aspects

As a co-investment under our venture capital scale-up programme, we worked collaboratively with Novastar Ventures (our co-investment partner) to agree an environmental and social (E&S) action plan with mPharma. Key items focused on developing an E&S management system, occupational health and safety, waste management, and data privacy and security.

Key facts

Status:
Active
Region

Since 2012, we’ve only invested in Africa and South Asia. Investments outside these regions are from our pre-2012 portfolio.
:
Africa
Sector

We have seven priority sectors. However, we continue to invest outside these sectors, largely in the most challenging regions, as new investment supporting any sector helps to underpin the private sector, and create jobs and livelihoods for people.
:
Health
Investment type

We provide capital in three broad ways: direct equity, debt, and intermediated equity (principally through investment funds).
:
Co-Investments Equity
Start date

For direct investments, this is the date CDC committed capital to the business or project.

For funds, this is the date that CDC committed capital to the fund.

For underlying fund investments, this is the date that the fund invested capital into the business.e
:
March 2020
Amount

For direct investments, this is the total amount that CDC has committed to the business or project (it may be a combination of equity and debt).

For funds, this is the total amount that CDC has committed to the fund.
:
$2m
Domicile

This is the investee company’s place of incorporation; or a fund’s jurisdiction.
:
USA
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