Konga targets health sector, to acquire pharmacy chain

Konga, Africa’s e-Commerce giant, has confirmed plans to extend its retail revolution to the health sector by launching an integrated cost-efficient health project through the acquisition of a pharmacy chain.The revolutionary project which will expectedly reduce the cost of health services delivery is set to kick off by the third quarter of 2019.

Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, Konga Co- CEO, who confirmed the development, also disclosed that the company is keen to revolutionize the face of health service delivery in Nigeria and beyond by ensuring swift delivery of quality drugs to end-users.

“Health services delivery in Nigeria is still very expensive and beset with challenges bordering on access and speed of delivery to residents in metropolitan cities but even worse with users in the hinterlands. Konga intends to change this situation by extending our retail revolution to this very critical sector.

“We have all the necessary approvals of the Konga Board to launch the most integrated genuine drug availability and delivery project by the third quarter of this year.

We already have a commitment of a huge amount from a foundation (name withheld) to subsidize the cost of last mile delivery to some classified persons and organizations.

“We also have approval to import digital lab equipment to test some batches of drugs supplied to our pharmacies nationwide by manufacturers and distributors to make sure they meet global standards.

“We consider this as purely not a commercial rollout because there is social content to it. We are going to partner with stakeholders up to the village level to make sure this happens.

“The roadmap to our quality health project is clear and we are sure it will be a rewarding experience for Nigerians. We will release more information in the month of August but rest assured that, the technology that will drive the network is ready and certified,” he disclosed.

Acquired by the Zinox Group from previous owners, South Africa’s Naspers and Swedish investment firm, AB Kinnevik in January 2018, Konga has undergone a huge transformation that has seen its value grow astronomically over the past 12 months.

The company, widely projected to become the first e-Commerce venture to turn profitable on the African continent, has creatively resolved some of the biggest challenges that has hobbled other players in the Nigerian and African e-Commerce scene, including logistics, payment, warehousing, last mile delivery, product quality and customer satisfaction, among others.