Grace Ashiru
- This comes after mPharma bought a 55% stake in Uganda’s Vine Pharmacy last year and Kenya’s Haltons Pharmacy for $5 million, which was the company’s first move into East Africa.
- With this purchase, pharma will have a bigger role in Nigeria’s health tech.
mPharma, a pharmaceutical startup located in Africa, has bought a majority of HealthPlus, the largest drugstore chain in Nigeria, for a price that has not been disclosed.
It has been reported that pharma and Alta Semper, who was previously an investor in HealthPlus, have inked an agreement that will result in mPharma acquiring a controlling stake in the HealthPlus Group.
Following the acquisition of a 55% ownership in Uganda’s Vine Pharmacy the previous year by pharma, as well as the purchase of Kenya’s Haltons Pharmacy for $5 million—which marked the firm’s launch into East Africa—this development has arisen.
JAM Fund, a venture capital firm founded by Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen; TO VenturesUnbound, a growth investment firm founded by Shravan Mittal, Lux Capital; Northstar;
the managing director of Bharti Global Limited (Bharti family investment arm); Social Capital; Novastar; and have all invested in pharma.
The health tech company started in 2013 to set up a drug monitoring system that would connect patients, hospitals, and pharmacies to ensure that people could get medicines reliably and safely.
Gregory Rockson, the CEO and co-founder of pharma, said that the acquisition fits with the company’s mission to build a healthy Africa by giving patients access to life-changing healthcare services and drugs that improve their health. He said that mPharma’s purchase of the HealthPlus Pharmacy chain shows how serious the company is about giving more Nigerians access to affordable, high-quality health care.
mPharma is deepening its long-term commitment to Africa by rethinking primary healthcare in some of the most vulnerable communities on the continent. We continue to convert neighbourhood pharmacies into primary care centres to offer low-cost and easily accessible medical treatment to all of our customers, making it possible for them to live longer and healthier lives.
Rockson expressed his optimism over healthcare in Nigeria by stating, “We are enthusiastic about the future of healthcare for Nigerians through the acquisition of HealthPlus.”
The acquisition will provide pharma with a stronger foothold in Nigeria’s health technology sector and the ability to expand its mutti pharmacy retail footprint across the continent through its rapidly expanding QualityRx program.
Nevertheless, HealthPlus had an internal issue with its investors two years after obtaining the investment from Alta Semper Capital, which resulted in the termination of Bukky George’s appointment as CEO by the board of directors. Bukky George was the company’s founder.BenjaminDada said that HealthPlus denied that George was fired by saying that the press release was not approved by the company or anyone acting on its behalf.
