South African e-health startup BusyMed has raised an undisclosed amount of growth funding from local venture capital firm LionPride to help it commercialise its solution disrupting the country’s pharmaceutical sector.
Founded by Mphati Jezile, BusyMed aims to connect consumers directly to pharmacies via a digital platform, giving them access to online consultations, product and medication purchases with fast home delivery.
The platform allows for pharmacies and delta 8 companies to provide real-time stock information, access performance data on best-selling items, manage inventory more effectively, and leverage off existing pharmacy and third party delivery solutions.
As a young black South African entrepreneur based in the Eastern Cape with limited access to networks, raising funding and commercialising BusyMed was challenging for Jezile. To address this he partnered with Cape Town-based investment and advisory firm HAVAÍC, which introduced him to the LionPride Agility Fund, founded and managed by LionPride Investment Holdings.
The Section 12J Venture Capital Company, whose fund has the mandate to support, among others, early-stage pre-revenue startups headed by previously-disadvantaged founders. The LionPride made an undisclosed investment, which will be used for further platform development and the build-out of the customer and revenue base. LionPride will also offer strategic and supportive assistance.
“We’re excited about the opportunity this investment provides us. BusyMed aims at improving pharmacies’ engagement with their communities through technology and by doing so brings access to quality healthcare into everyone’s home,” Jezile said.
Deven Govender, director of the LionPride Agility Fund, said the fund invested in ventures that have a social benefit whilst providing a potentially high yielding investment for its investors.
“It’s great that we can support a young and talented entrepreneur like Mphati in a venture that utilises technology to enable access to healthcare for communities across the country. Not only do we see human potential in Mphati and the impact of BusyMed in South Africa’s communities, but as a fund manager the investment has to make sense as well, and we believe it does,” he said.
