CridMD Acquires Pharmaceutical Company to Ease Scaling in Nigeria

Ifeanyi Ossai, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of CribMD

CridMD, Nigeria’s leading innovation driven e-health startup has acquired retail pharmaceutical company Charisland Pharmaceuticals (CP) as part of efforts aimed at expanding its market share in the space and ensure drug delivery straight to patients’ homes across Nigeria.

CribMD, which was launched in June 2020 to connect users with doctors for house calls and telemedicine services via its on-demand platform, allowing them to schedule appointments from the comfort and safety of their home, on their own schedule has witnessed remarkable growth in the last one year.

Ifeanyi Ossai, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of CribMD
Ifeanyi Ossai, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of CribMD

It has built an active subscriber base of more than 3,000, and to spur quicker expansion has now used some of the US$2.6 million in seed funding it raised earlier this year to acquire CP. Incorporated in 2009, CP is exiting the Nigerian market and relocating to Canada, so the deal was mutually beneficial.

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Speaking on the acquisition, Ifeanyi Ossai, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of CribMD said that the startup’s values with the pharmaceutical firm overlap, and it’s our overall vision for the healthcare space is similar.

“CribMD’s product offerings are shaping out well. We already have telemedicine and doctor house visits running smoothly. Our recent acquisition will further solidify the online pharmacy offering. We hope to add more in the coming months.”

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Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

CribMD, Nigerian eHealth Startup Launches Expansion Drive

The trailblazing e-health startup CribMD, which describes itself as “Uber for doctors”, has kick-started its expansion drive with the $2.6 million funding it recently received. The eHealth startup which was established in June 2020, CribMD connects users with doctors for house calls and telemedicine services via its on-demand platform, allowing them to schedule appointments from the comfort and safety of their home, on their own schedule.

Ifeanyi Ossai, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of CribMD
Ifeanyi Ossai, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of CribMD

Ifeanyi Ossai, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of CribMD says that the startup is revolutionising each and every step of the care process, from affordability, patient-provider matching, to billing, to health record management. “Through the touch of an app or a click on our site, an affordable, highly-vetted, qualified medical doctor will arrive at your door, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” “The CribMD experience brings preventive, primary, and urgent care to a patient’s doorstep. We empower our medical teams to develop deep patient relationships through unhurried visits, comprehensive care, and immersion in the patient’s home environment.”

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The startup raised a US$250,000 pre-seed round last year, and has now added to that with a US$2.6 million seed funding round which it will use to build its team and further expand its network of partners in order to scale more quickly. The funding comes from US accelerator Sputnik ATX and The Guardian Nigerian.

CribMD already has 2,800 subscribers, and another 50,000 on its waitlist. It has over 5,000 doctors on its platform, and has monthly recurring revenues of US$75,000. It hopes to scale its operations via the investment.

“Funds are being deployed to product management, hiring and marketing,” Ossai said. “We plan on expanding to other parts of Africa within the next two years.”

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He is certain of the positive impact of the startup’s platform.

“Before CribMD, people in Nigeria queued up at clinics and hospitals, waiting all day to get care, and in most cases they were not served the same day due to hospital or clinic capacity issues. Prior to CribMD, we ran five clinics under WeCare in Delta State Nigeria and were overwhelmed everyday by demand,” said Ossai.

“The clinics simply cannot serve that many people and we could never build enough clinics to keep up with demand. That’s why we started CribMD. With CribMD, every home is a clinic and we don’t have to build it ourselves. Just like Airbnb – every home is a hotel and they didn’t have to build it themselves. With tech, we can now serve people in the comfort and safety of their own home.”

CribMD makes money through subscriptions, with clients paying a monthly, quarterly or annual fee.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry