Egypt-based private equity firm Ezdehar Management announced the purchase of a minority stake for $10 million in a healthtech startup Yodawy, which has emerged as a leading pharmacy benefits management platform and the region’s largest dispensary of chronic medication refills since it was started in 2018.

Powered by technology and advanced fulfillment capabilities, Yodawy manages the end-to-end prescription life cycle: providing the tech for doctors to generate e-prescriptions, insurance companies to automate approvals in real-time, and patients to get their medications delivered on time, at home.

Yodawy is now integrated with the top health insurance providers and serves 35 payers, 800+ corporates, 20 hospitals, and 30+ clinics in the market. The company also relies on a solid network of 3,000 pharmacies serving chronic and acute patients nationwide and has processed more than 6 million prescriptions since its inception. Yodawy is backed by leading institutions, including Delivery Hero Ventures, Global Ventures, Algebra Ventures, and AAIC, who also participated in Yodawy’s round with a follow-on investment on top of Ezdehar’s injection.

Ezdehar’s primary capital investment in Yodawy will be focused on supporting the company’s growth plans, mainly expanding its client base and tech-enabled prescription fulfilment capabilities and assisting its unique management team in creating further value in the market to ultimately solidify its position in the health-tech space as the sole Pharmacy Benefit Management player in Egypt and the region.

In this context, Karim Khashaba, CEO of Yodawy, said: “For the last 5 years, we focused on building a healthcare platform that solves fundamental challenges in the sector, and by now, have quietly solidified our position as the leading digital pharma powerhouse in Egypt and the partner of choice for payers and providers. Ezdehar’s funding and partnership at this time will be critical for us to continue to drive change and support us in our mission to reduce healthcare costs, facilitate patients’ access to services, and improve their overall experience”.

Amir Mishriky, Managing Director of Ezdehar, said: “The company recognized an untapped opportunity in the medication value chain and created an end-to-end management scheme starting from prescription generation to fulfilment that proved to be instrumental to patients and service providers in the market.” He added: “We are excited about Yodawy’s growth story and truly believe in the prospect and potential it holds in disrupting the industry.”