Nigeria: Pharmarun Emerges as Winner of Pitch2Win 2023, Here’s What You Need to Know

Health-tech startup Pharmarun clinched victory at the third edition of Pitch2Win, a prestigious event connecting startups with investors. The startup secured $10,000 in equity-free investment for its innovative platform. Let’s delve into the details of this exciting startup and its co-founders, who have been friends for two decades.

In an impressive presentation lasting less than five minutes, Teniola Adedeji captivated the judges—Kola Owodunni, Yuzuru Honda, Eloho Omame, Hiro Mashita, and Kola Aina—convincing them that Pharmarun deserved the coveted $10,000 funding. Pharmarun is a health tech startup that offers on-demand delivery of medications to customers’ doorsteps. It competed against 14 other early-stage startups presenting solutions in AI, blockchain, fintech, e-commerce, and logistics at Pitch2Win—an annual event that serves as a bridge between startups and potential investors.

This is not the first time Pharmarun has attracted external investment. In 2021, the same year of its official launch, the startup received angel investment from Fedha Capital. However, in a phone conversation, Teniola’s longtime best friend and co-founder, Funmilola Aderemi, revealed that Teniola had registered “Pharmarun” as a business name back in 2016. At the time, Teniola had completed an investment banking internship at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and was working as a pharmacist at the National Food and Drug Commission (NAFDAC). Reflecting on the serendipitous nature of the name choice, Teniola responded, “I just thought the name was really cool. I wanted to own a pharmacy of my own and call it that someday.”

Pharmarun initially stemmed from Teniola’s concern over the limited accessibility of medications, with only pharmacies on the upscale Lagos Island having the required stock. Working at a pharmacy herself, she witnessed customers’ frustration when certain drugs were unavailable. Teniola took it upon herself to assist customers in sourcing medications elsewhere, extending her help to friends and family. As word spread, people started reaching out to her on WhatsApp, requesting specific drugs to be located and delivered.

The demand for Teniola’s assistance surged during the COVID-19 pandemic when movement restrictions made it even more challenging for individuals to access pharmacies. It was during this time that she recognized the potential for her initiative to evolve into a full-fledged business. She enlisted the support of her friend Funmilola, who held a senior product manager position at the logistics company MAX. Late-night calls became a regular occurrence as they collaborated on designing various aspects of the web platform where customers could place orders.

Teniola revealed that their main concern was whether customers would trust them enough to make payments on the website until they secured their first paying customer. Up until then, they primarily operated through WhatsApp and relied on word-of-mouth referrals. To instill confidence in potential clients, they designed the website to include features such as “Speak to a pharmacist,” assuring users that real people were behind the platform. Pharmarun’s customer base has since expanded to include individuals, hospitals in need of prescription refills for patients, and insurance companies seeking timely medication refills for policyholders.

As the business grew, Teniola began searching for a co-founder to join Pharmarun on a full-time basis. Although Funmilola dedicated significant time to helping with product development, Teniola hesitated to ask her to leave her full-time job at MAX. Eventually, she mustered the courage to extend the invitation, and Funmilola enthusiastically accepted the role of co-founder. Reflecting on that moment, Funmilola said, “It felt natural and almost like a promotion from a consultancy position to a co-founder position. Moreover, I enjoyed working on the product with Teniola, and like her, I was also passionate about the problem.” With seven years of experience as a pharmacist and pharmacy operations manager, Teniola assumes the role of CEO, while Funmilola, leveraging her product management expertise, serves as the Chief Product Officer.

Pharmarun aims to go beyond being a simple drugstore. “Even if people know where to find a drug, they may lack the funds to purchase it, resulting in limited access to medication,” Teniola explained during our call. To address this, Pharmarun offers financing options for medications through embedded buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services. “Through partnerships with BNPL companies, customers who lack immediate funds can still access essential medications.” Since the BNPL services are embedded at the checkout, they do not affect Pharmarun’s balance sheet, eliminating the need for loan recovery from customers.

While Pharmarun’s operational model may draw comparisons to platforms like Jumia, where users can order various items for doorstep delivery, there is a fundamental difference. On Pharmarun’s platform, users do not have to choose from an array of pharmacies like Medplus. Instead, when customers search for a specific drug, the platform assists them in finding the best price from any pharmacy that stocks the desired quantity of medication. “This is why we are actively onboarding as many legitimate pharmacies as we can,” Teniola explained. Presently, Pharmarun collaborates with over 80 pharmacies across Nigeria, with a strong presence in cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and Uyo. They are continuously working to forge partnerships with more pharmacies.

However, the process of onboarding these pharmacies has not been without challenges. Adedeji emphasized the rigorous onboarding process, ensuring compliance with industry standards and user protection. Additionally, many of these pharmacies lack technological expertise, necessitating training on the web platform used for order fulfillment. Overcoming these obstacles is crucial as Pharmarun actively seeks to expand its network of partner pharmacies. During her pitch, Teniola highlighted the need for significant funding, estimating up to $500,000, to facilitate the onboarding of additional pharmacies.

As the customer base expanded, staffing became a significant hurdle. Teniola acknowledged the difficulty in finding individuals with the necessary skills and shared passion. Despite the challenges, Pharmarun has grown from its modest beginnings with Teniola and her best friend Funmilola as co-founders, to a dedicated team of 15 staff members.

“We aspire to go beyond medication,” Funmilola emphasized during our conversation. Pharmarun envisions a broader impact, particularly for communities that face isolation from urban centers, such as Makoko in Lagos. “We are building Pharmarun to be capable of delivering all essential medical health products to those in need, not just in Nigeria but also across African countries. Our solution is highly replicable, and within five years, we aim to address healthcare challenges through independent endeavors or collaborations,” she concluded.

Pitch2Win 2023 featured 14 startups competing alongside Pharmarun. The runner-up was ZeroComplex AI, an AI startup dedicated to streamlining AI integration into existing applications. Oystr Finance, a fintech startup facilitating access to alternative financial data and creditworthiness assessment, secured third place.