Joining the train of Africa’s latest fund raisers is the Nigerian social enterprise startup, Field Intelligence, which is building a new generation of healthcare supply chains in Africa. The startup has declared that its USD 3.6 Mn Series A round has successfully come to and end. 

“We’re delighted to welcome new investors into the business. They share our vision for catalysing change in a huge and vitally-important sector. They bring deep fintech and logistics experience, which will be vital in helping us build a new generation of healthcare supply chains in Africa and beyond,” Michael Moreland, Co-Founder and CEO, Field Intelligence said. 

Here Is All You Need To Know

• This Series A round of funding was led by Blue Haven Initiative, with investors including Newtown Partners via the recently announced Imperial Venture Fund and Accion Venture Lab.
• With its latest investment, Field Intelligence plans to fund Shelf Life’s (its supply arm) expansion throughout Nigeria and Kenya, as well as the development of additional services for Shelf Life clients and their patients.

Why The Investors Invested

According to Llew Claasen, Managing Partner, Newtown Partners:

“We’re excited about the potential for the Field Intelligence technology-first distributor business model to grow the pharmaceutical value chain in Sub-Saharan Africa, by supplying genuine pharmaceutical products, managing stock and providing working capital finance to community pharmacies.”

On what the investors found in Shelf Life, an arm of Field Intelligence for which they are committing the investment, Lauren Cochran, Managing Director, Blue Haven Initiative, said:

“Shelf Life is a proven platform to transform access to medicines through Africa’s private community pharmacy market. The design and development have been done on the ground in Nigeria and Kenya and there’s real experience in the team of what it takes to deliver at scale in African health systems.”

Particularly, Ashley Lewis, Senior Investment Officer for Africa at Accion Venture Lab, Accion’s seed-stage inclusive fintech investment initiative, points out that: 

“Its platform (Shelf Life) increases efficiency, decreases financing costs, and establishes strong rails for transformative payments and inventory services — ultimately improving access to medicines in community pharmacies.”

A Look At What Field Intelligence Does

Through Shelf Life, its supply service, the startup Field Intelligence is ensuring availability, reducing costs, and empowering pharmacies to grow by improving access.

The company which started back in 2015 claims to be focused on making the pharmaceutical supply chain radically simple, affordable, and effective, by helping providers — from the largest health systems to the smallest drug shops — to ensure a new generation can access the care it needs to flourish.

Field Intelligence calls itself a pioneer in pharmaceutical supply chain solutions in Africa. Its Shelf Life “Pay-As-You-Sell” subscription service for pharmaceutical products has grown rapidly since first debuting in Nigeria in mid-2017.

Shelf Life’s pharmacy clients can subscribe to over a thousand quality-assured and price-stabilised drugs from 50 medical, health and wellness categories. Using Field Intelligence’s technology platform, Shelf Life forecasts, procures, delivers, manages, and finances each product the pharmacy has subscribed to

Field Intelligence says over 280 community pharmacies in Nigeria and Kenya have now subscribed to Shelf Life to-date, making it one of the largest networks of pharmacies on the continent.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com