Field Intelligence, a Nigerian healthtech startup has announced its plans to expand into new cities across East and West Africa.
Formed in 2015 to transform the role of technology, business, and supply chain in sustainable, equitable development in Africa, the firm is planning to expand into Rivers, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Delta and Kwara States in Nigeria, and Eldoret, Mombasa, Kisumu and Naivasha in Kenya.
Quality healthcare across Africa
The expansion will build on Field Intelligence’s existing 700+ pharmacy membership, which has served over 1.4 million patients to accelerate quality frontline healthcare across Africa.
The firm in 2016 began development of Field Supply, an offline-first SaaS solution simplifying the process of digitizing and optimizing large-scale supply chains, and Forth, a fourth-party logistics service leveraging Field Supply with the mission to upskill Africa’s underutilized informal transport labor to extend last-mile delivery at scale.
Independent and franchise pharmacies can now access 1000 unique products, inventory planning, subscription delivery and Pay-As-You-Sell on the Shelf Life platform.
Also Read: 1.5km Nigerian-Cameroon bridge to boost trade
Field Intelligence has recorded a rapid growth in sales and Shelf Life membership subscriptions in the past 1 year, with Nigeria increasing by 47% and 65% in Kenya, selling over 586,950 products in 63 different product categories.
This included anticipated demand for anti-malaria and contraceptive products which sold over 87,000 products in these categories.
However, there was an unexpected inclination of sales in both countries for supplements (45,618 units), cough and cold medicines and PPEs as communities and health workers grew increasingly more conscious of COVID-19 symptoms and preventative measures.
Use of data
Field Intelligence has been able to meet the demands for prescription and over the counter drugs in multiple markets despite recent critical global shortages, by using data to optimise predictions and identify irregularities in the market.
The digital-first, asset-light approach has enabled the start-up to build out its Pan-African solution and take the lead as the digital healthcare market gains momentum in Africa.
As well as definitive signs for scale and impact in pharmaceutical distribution and management, Nigeria has 4,500 registered pharmacies and over 15,000 drugstores, whilst Kenya has 6,000 registered pharmacies and chemists.
Rapid expansion
In 2022 Field Intelligence aims to surpass 2,000 pharmacies and drugstores using Shelf Life and by 2025 the company is targeted to have 12,000 pharmacies in its network, 4x that of Chinese pharmacy chain GouDam – making it the largest globally.
In its current operating markets, digital health in Nigeria is set to reach a revenue volume of over US$1.3bn by 2025, with a 22.31% annual growth rate.
Similarly, Kenya is also due to see a positive trajectory, with a 19.97% annual growth rate, resulting in a market volume of US$649.73m by 2025.
Solution for pharmacies
According to Michael Moreland, CEO of Field Intelligence, Shelf Life’s rapid uptake across such a range of African markets is a testament to its potential as a solution for pharmacies across the continent.
“Rural and urban, East and West, we have found Shelf Life helping pharmacies overcome a shared set of challenges and seize new opportunities for growth by improving access for their patients.,” he said.
He added that the ability of Field Intelligence’s technology to digitize, automate, and optimize planning, assortment, and fulfillment, led by an incredible team, is quickly making Shelf Life one of the largest retail pharmacy supply chains in Africa.
History of Shelf Life
Field launched Shelf Life in 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria – pioneering vendor-managed inventory as a service and Pay-As-You-Sell subscriptions for retail pharmacies with an aim to solve the inventory problem cutting across Africa’s $75B retail pharmacy market.
In October 2017, Nigeria’s National Supply Chain Integration Project (NSCIP) adopted Field Supply as the country’s health logistics management information system, beginning a sprint to add HIV, Malaria, and Family Planning programs to the platform – entrusting Field Supply with management of planning, reporting, and analytics on hundreds of new SKUs serving twenty-nine unique services across tens of thousands of new clinics, hospitals, and labs across the country.
Its technology is radically simple for easy adoption in complex environments and effectively scalable, without the barriers of borders and languages.
Additionally, it provides unprecedented visibility and control of pharmaceutical procurement and inventory management to eliminate frequent over and understocking, which results in expiry losses of over 10% a year and 30% stockout rates, driving pharmacies to reduce the variety of products they offer and increase their prices.
Also Read: Burundi joins EAC partner states to launch own Trade Information Portal
Shelf Life takes the burden and risk of inventory off the client, managing forecasting, quality assurance, fulfillment, and inventory management in a subscription service.
Pharmacies sell Shelf Life-supplied goods on consignment through its Pay-As-You-Sell program, avoiding expiry risk and accessing a cheaper alternative to working capital finance.