Egypt’s Ezdehar Management acquires minority stake in local pharma delivery startup Yodawy with USD 10 mn investment

Ezdehar Management (Ezdehar), an Egypt-based private equity firm, announced the purchase of a minority stake in "Yodawy" through Ezdehar Mid-Cap Fund ll. The investment falls within Ezdehar's strategy of investing in and supporting mid-cap companies undergoing transformative growth and marks Ezdehar's entry into the health-tech and pharmaceutical retail market. Ezdehar Mid-Cap Fund Il comprises contributions from several international institutions; foremost among them are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), The British International Investment (Bll), the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), the International Financing Corporation (IFC), Egyptian American Enterprise Fund (EAEF), and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) - in addition to a group of Egyptian investors including banks and other investment institutions.

Founded in 201 8, Yodawy is the leading Pharmacy Benefits Management platform and the region's largest dispensary of chronic medication refills. Powered by technology and advanced fulfillment capabilities, Yodawy manages the end-to-end prescription life cycle: providing the tech for doctors to generate e-prescriptions, insurance companies to automate approvals in real-time, and patients to get their medications delivered on time, at home.

Yodawy is now integrated with the top health insurance providers and serves 35 payers, 800+ corporates, 20 hospitals, and 30+ clinics in the market. The company also relies on a solid network of 3,000 pharmacies in the market serving both chronic and acute patients nationwide and has processed more than 6 million prescriptions since inception. Yodawy is backed by leading institutions including Delivery Hero Ventures, Global Ventures, Algebra Ventures, and AAIC who also participated in Yodawy's round with a follow-on investment on top of Ezdehar's injection.

Ezdehar's primary capital investment in Yodawy will be focused on supporting the company's growth plans, mainly expanding its client base and tech-enabled prescription fulfillment capabilities and assisting its unique management team in creating further value in the market to ultimately solidify its position in the health-tech space as the sole Pharmacy Benefit Management player in Egypt and the region.

In this context, Karim Khashaba, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Yodawy, said: "For the last 5 years, we focused on building a healthcare platform that solves fundamental challenges in the sector, and by now, have quietly solidified our position as the leading digital pharma powerhouse in Egypt and the partner of choice for payers and providers. Ezdehar's funding and partnership at this time will be critical for us to continue to drive change and support us in our mission to reduce healthcare costs, facilitate patients' access to services, and improve their overall experience"

On his part, Amir Mishriky, Managing Director at Ezdehar leading the deal said: "The company recognized an untapped opportunity in the medication value chain and created an end-to-end management scheme starting from prescription generation to fulfillment that proved to be instrumental to patients and service providers in the market. " He added: "We are excited about Yodawy's growth story, and truly believe in the prospect and potential it holds in disrupting the industry. "