Axmed, a B2B marketplace, has emerged as a beacon of hope. Recently, the startup raised $2 million in seed funding from Founderful Ventures to bolster its mission of streamlining drug supply chains in underserved regions.
With an estimated 2 billion people, particularly those in lower and middle-income countries, lacking access to essential medicines, the need for intervention is dire. Compounded by the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, the situation has resulted in preventable diseases causing distress and fatalities.
Axmed aims to address this challenge by tackling supply chain fragmentation head-on. By connecting manufacturers with health institutions through its marketplace, Axmed seeks to mitigate inefficiencies leading to shortages, high costs, and the prevalence of counterfeit drugs. The startup’s approach involves aggregating demand, enabling buyers to source drugs directly from manufacturers at reduced costs, and circumventing traditional pharmaceutical supply chains riddled with multiple layers of intermediaries.
Operating primarily in lower and middle-income countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Rwanda, Axmed targets key stakeholders including faith-based institutions, non-governmental organizations, government-led care providers, and procurement agencies.
Headquartered in Switzerland, Axmed is diligently collaborating with partners to refine its product ahead of a full-scale launch later this year. The recent funding injection follows a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at enhancing maternal and child healthcare accessibility in priority countries.
Emmanuel Akpakwu, CEO and co-founder of Axmed, emphasizes the platform’s commitment to leveraging the aggregation model to enhance buyer power and create a compelling market opportunity for manufacturers. Drawing from his experience as Chief Commercial Officer of Novartis’ sub-Saharan Africa region, Akpakwu underscores the challenges hindering manufacturers from scaling in new markets and highlights Axmed’s role in aggregating orders to foster a conducive environment for market engagement.
Axmed joins a burgeoning ecosystem of platforms and healthtech firms digitizing the pharmaceutical supply chain landscape. With initiatives like Africa Medicines Supply Platform and Xs2Meds, alongside companies like Drugstoc and Remedial Health, Axmed stands at the forefront of efforts to address sourcing and distribution challenges in the pharmaceutical sector.
As Axmed continues its journey to revolutionize drug supply chains, its innovative approach promises to bring about tangible improvements in access to essential medicines, ultimately transforming healthcare delivery in underserved regions.
