The $1m Series A round was led by Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, CVentures, with participation from ASI Ventures, an Egyptian angel investor firm. Founded in 2018, Yodawy is led by CEO, Karim Khashaba, a former consultant at Booz & Company with more than 10 years of experience; CTO Sherief El-Feky, a veteran full stack developer and software architect; and CPO Yasser AbdelGawad, who brings 12 years of experience in digital conversion marketing and product design across Europe and the Middle East. “There is an incredible opportunity in the pharmacy benefits and claims processing space. It’s an established business model in different parts of the world, with no real solution in the region. Consumers and insurance companies alike are absolutely desperate for a better value proposition.” says Karim Khashaba, Yodawy’s co-Founder and CEO, “… the region has come a long way over the past couple of years, but we still believe very little is being done to address deeper infrastructure gaps. This is where Yodawy is looking to create real impact!” added Karim. Yodawy has managed to scale from zero to almost half a million orders in less than 12 months, all without prior access to venture capital. Yodawy enables users to browse and order medications and personal care products through a mobile app. Orders are routed to the best matching pharmacy across a network of 2500+ nation-wide partners. Patients also get access through the app to their medical insurance co-payment plan. If the insurance provider is part of the Yodawy network, the approval process is digitally managed, and the order is routed to the best-matching pharmacy for delivery. Karim Hussein, Algebra Ventures’ Managing Partner, said, “Yodawy has a very promising team that is led by an experienced and resilient entrepreneur with strong product passion and an ability to attract good talent.” “With their vision, strategy and the outstanding progress Yodawy has been able to deliver outstanding results in their first year of operations, Algebra is truly excited about this opportunity and confident in Yodawy’s ability to lead the digital transformation of the Healthcare sector in Egypt and the MENA region,” he added. “Yodawy has the potential to become a leading digital pharmacy benefits platform in the region. It’s clear go-to-market addresses fundamental problems experienced by all stakeholders. Their clear go-to-market addresses fundamental problems experienced by pharmacies, insurance companies and their respective customers, effectively adding significant value to all stakeholders. CVentures is excited at the prospect of working closely with Yodawy, and we look forward to helping the Founders achieve their vision and roll-out of additional innovative offerings.” says Emad Fouad, CVentures Managing Director. Yodawy is operational in 30 cities across Egypt with a network of 2500+ pharmacies, and partners including leading insurance providers with the potential to extend insurance coverage to tens of thousands of patients.
