Source: Ephraim Modise/ Techcabal
mPharma is parting ways with some of its workforce as it doubles down on its Mutti product.
mPharma, the Ghanaian startup that manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, has laid off some members of its workforce. “We took the difficult decision to right-size the team,” said Gregory Rockson, the company’s CEO; “[the layoffs are] in light of the current macroeconomic conditions driven by the devaluation of the Naira.”
About 150 employees—40 in Nigeria—were affected by the layoffs, and severance packages were provided to the affected employees.”We allowed affected employees to keep their health insurance, and we extended the period for them to exercise their stock options from 90 days to 3 years,” Rockson said.
mPharma has raised $90 million, including a $35 million series D last year. In September 2022, the startup bought a majority stake in HealthPlus, a leading pharmacy chain in Nigeria, for an undisclosed amount. A year before, it also bought a 55% stake in Uganda’s Vine Pharmacy— the second country in East Africa after buying Halton’s Pharmacy in Kenya for $5 million in 2019. The startup operates in nine African countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Gabon and Ethiopia.
mPharma will now be focusing primarily on its main healthcare business, Mutti. Mutti is mPharma’s online pharmacy and according to their impact report, they are looking to have a Mutti pharmacy in every community on the continent.
According to Rockson, “This decision will allow us to continue to serve the over 200,000 patients who rely on our Mutti services for their healthcare needs each month.” mPharma, which was launched in 2013, started as a way to provide prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, manage retail pharmacy operations and to provide market intelligence to hospitals, pharmacies and patients. In 2021, they added telehealth services because of the high demand for telemedicine after the COVID-19 pandemic. They also helped the Ghanaian government procure vaccines for in 2020. Since then, mPharma has rolled out several projects and services, including a $3 million molecular diagnostic fund to facilitate investments in private hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria.
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