Yodawy

Yodawy operates as a digital pharmacy and pharmacy benefits management (PBM) platform in Egypt, aiming to restructure the healthcare sector by digitizing the prescription and claims processes. Founded in Cairo in 2018 by Karim Khashaba, Yasser Abdel Gawad, and Sherief El-Feky, the company addresses the inefficiencies of a market where prescriptions and claims are predominantly paper-based. CEO Karim Khashaba, a computer scientist with a background in management consulting and family experience in medical equipment distribution, identified a market gap in the lack of automation and integration between pharmacies and insurance companies.

The company's business model is multifaceted, generating revenue from several streams. It charges software-as-a-service (SaaS) fees to insurance companies for using its platform to automate claims, which can handle up to 80% of patient services. Yodawy also earns commissions from pharmacies for each transaction routed through its marketplace. A third revenue stream comes from direct sales of chronic medications through its own supply chain, effectively operating as a pharmacy itself for this segment. This integrated approach allows Yodawy to serve as a comprehensive link between patients, over 3,000 partner pharmacies, doctors, and major insurance providers like Axa and MetLife.

Yodawy's platform offers several products and services. For consumers, the mobile app allows them to order medications and personal care products by uploading a prescription or searching a product database, with delivery from a network of pharmacies covering 38 cities. A key feature is the integration with insurance providers, enabling real-time, AI-powered approvals of co-payments and claims directly within the app. The company also features a dedicated "Yodawy Care Program" for chronic patients, which provides monthly medication refills, pharmacist support, and free nationwide delivery, aiming to improve medication adherence. For healthcare providers, Yodawy offers an e-prescription gateway, allowing doctors to issue digital prescriptions, which has resulted in the generation of over 2,000 e-prescriptions daily.

Since its inception, Yodawy has demonstrated significant growth, processing over six million prescriptions and serving more than 200,000 patients monthly. The company has successfully raised a total of $34.5 million across four funding rounds. Key funding milestones include a $1 million Series A in 2019, a $7.5 million Series B in 2021, and a subsequent $16 million Series B round in February 2023, co-led by Delivery Hero Ventures and Global Ventures. An additional $10 million was raised in January 2024 from Ezdehar Management. These funds are earmarked for expanding its Care Program, automating operations, and fueling regional expansion into the broader Middle East and Africa pharma market.

Keywords: digital pharmacy, pharmacy benefits management, PBM, healthtech, Egypt, online pharmacy, prescription delivery, insurance claims automation, e-prescription, chronic care management, medication adherence, healthcare platform, Cairo, MENA healthcare, Karim Khashaba, digital health, pharma marketplace, last-mile delivery, healthcare logistics, SaaS, venture capital, Series B, Delivery Hero Ventures, Global Ventures, Ezdehar Management