Kenya’s Maisha Meds secures $5.25M for expansion. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. Kenya’s Maisha Meds secures $5.25m for expansion

A digital health organization in Kenya, Maisha Meds, has secured a $5.25 million funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) for its scale-up stage 3 expansion.

The founder, Dr. Jessica Vernon, stated this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

Maisha Meds operates a software platform designed to enhance the efficient procurement of quality, affordable medicines by rural pharmacists and clinicians while ensuring that subsidies are passed on to patients.

The $5.25 million funding, to be disbursed over a span of three years, is intended to support Maisha Meds in its efforts to expand its reach across Africa.

The fund is focused on providing affordable and high-quality malaria care through private drug shops, pharmacies, and clinics.

With supplementary backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Maisha Meds intends to extend the use of its mobile software to serve a total of 7,500 pharmacies and clinics by the conclusion of the grant period. This expansion will result in subsidized care reaching nearly a million patients.

Speaking on the development, Dr. Jessica Vernon emphasized the critical role of frontline pharmacies in delivering malaria care across various African regions outside of the formal healthcare system.

She highlighted the positive impact of technology in improving the quality of care provided by these pharmacies and expressed gratitude for the additional support from USAID DIV to scale their innovation in collaboration with governments and pharmacy owners.

Trivia: The Swift programming language was developed by which company?

A. Microsoft

B. Facebook

C. Amazon

D. Apple

See Answer Below

2. BluePeak closes $156m funding round

BluePeak Private Capital, an alternative asset management firm, has announced closing a funding round for its inaugural private capital fund, BluePeak Private Capital Fund SCSp.

The Co-founder, Walid Cherif, who reacted to the development, noted that the firm is focused on supporting the growth of scalable businesses in Africa through privately-negotiated and structured debt-like instruments.

Established in 2019 and with a presence in Tunis, Nairobi, and London, the startup marked the final close of its new fund, raising $156 million.

The completion of this funding round is seen as a significant development, highlighting the increasing attractiveness of private debt as an asset class, offering a superior risk-adjusted alternative for African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The fund managed to secure investments from a range of investors and development finance institutions (DFIs) that are committed to maximizing social impact while generating attractive returns.

The investors include institutions like the African Development Bank (AfDB), British International Investment (BII), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), FMO, SwedFund, and CDC Tunisia.

Walid Cherif, co-founder and managing partner of BluePeak, emphasized the company’s mission, stating, “When we established BluePeak in 2019, it was to form part of a solution to fill Africa’s funding gap.

3. Almouneer raises $3.6m seed round

A healthtech startup, Almouneer, has secured $3.6 million in a seed round of funding.

The CEO, Noha Khater, stated this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

This seed round was spearheaded by Dubai-based Global Ventures, with active participation from several other notable international investors.

According to the press release, the investors include Proparco, Digital Africa through the Bridge Fund, Wrightwood Investments (the family office of Diane & Henry Engelhardt in the UK), and other prominent global funds.

On past successes recorded by the startup, Almouneer is currently serving over 120,000 patients and experiencing a doubling of business volumes over the past year.

This platform incorporates cutting-edge applications for both patients and healthcare providers and connects to a wide network of service providers, including doctors, health coaches, labs, and nutritionists.

The funding will be instrumental in enhancing DRU’s technology and expanding its provider ecosystem.

In the first quarter of 2024, Almouneer will launch its DRU app for doctors, facilitating the connection between healthcare providers and millions of patients.

The company’s strategic vision includes regional and international expansion, with market entries planned for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya, within the next year.

Trivia Answer: Apple

Swift is a high-level programming language developed by Apple and made available in 2014. It is designed for writing apps for Apple platforms, including macOS, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

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