Ibnsina Pharma acquires 75% stake in Egyptian health and beauty products startup 3elagi

Ibnsina Pharma signed an agreement to acquire 75% stake in Egyptian health and beauty products startup 3elagi Tech, a platform that links pharmacies with patients to order medicines and cosmetics online.

The majority of the capital involved EGP 25 million will be directed to increase 3elagi Tech capital to finance future expansions . The remaining 25% stake in the business will stay with the founders who will with the existing management team remain onboard to further expand the business and strengthen Ibnsina Pharma’s digital footprint.

Mohsen Mahgoub, Chairman, Ibnsina Pharma: “This acquisition came in line with the growing importance of the e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures. The lockdown that was implemented in most of the world, highlighted the need to give patients access to have their medications without having to leave their homes. This strategic move supports the state efforts to apply Track & Trace system in order to prevents the counterfeit and illegal drugs getting into the system by following the drugs at every step of the supply chain. Also, it supports the national agenda Egypt Vision 2030 which reflects the state’s long-term strategic plan to achieve sustainable development through knowledge-based economic growth and digital transformation.“

Omar Abdel Gawad, Co-CEO, Ibnsina Pharma: “As part of our strategic objectives directed by the Board of Directors, we pursue value-adding acquisitions adjacent to our core operations in order to strengthen our business. This agreement is a proof point of implementing our investment strategy in the healthcare sector. It is also in line with our objective to strengthen our competitive edge in the area of digitalization to create meaningful innovations for the entire pharma sector. This is our first acquisition in digital healthcare field, we will continue searching for similar opportunities that will help us to enhance our offerings and add more efficiencies to operations for the benefit of our stakeholders.“

Mahmoud Abdel Gawad, Co-CEO, Ibnsina Pharma: “The application is a new service that links the pharmacies with clients willing to order medicines and cosmetics online. The client will have the option to choose which pharmacy he wants to order from, consequently the order and the invoice will be issued from the pharmacy to be delivered to the client at the official price. This means that the application doesn’t compete with pharmacies or favor specific pharmacies, on the contrary it will boost orders to pharmacies and will increase the competitive advantage of small and medium size pharmacies all over Egypt. We aim the have all the pharmacies in Egypt on the application whether the pharmacy is ibnsina pharma’s client or no. Ibnsina pharma have been in the market for almost 20 years, we are currently serving more than 40k pharmacy all over Egypt which will facilitate the registration process for interested pharmacies.“

Mostafa Hamouda, Managing Director, 3elagi Tech: “We are excited to partner with ibnsina pharma, the fastest growing pharma distributor in Egypt with its highefficiency and strong distribution capabilities. We are confident that choosing the right partner whose values and strategic vision are aligned with our own will transform the application into a full-fledged-healthcare platform. The application provides the customer a user-friendly experience with easy navigation between different sections. Using the capital increase proceeds, we will be able to execute our ambitious plans to increase both the number of users who reached currently 600 k annually and also the number of registered pharmacies which will have the luxury to benefit from online orders without having to bear the cost of building their own application.”

Youssef ElSammaa, CEO, Falak Startups: “As a shareholders , we are excited with the deal which is compatible with Falak Startups‘ mission to empower talented and ambitious early-stage tech startup founders and help them thrive in the region’s rapidly changing entrepreneurship landscape powered by the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation and it's venture capital arm, Egypt Ventures.“

Ibnsina Pharma invested around EGP 22 million in 2020 in internal digital related projects which includes Ibnsina Pharma online ordering application which was successfully launched last July reaching 4k pharmacy using the application monthly in a short period of time which shows pharmacists’ desire to benefit from digital services. The application enables the pharmacist to order 24/7 while getting information concerning product availability and order receiving time. The application also enables the pharmacist to see his balances and invoices in addition to other services that will be launched soon which will transform the application to a full-fledged platform for pharmacies. in 2021, Ibnsina Pharma plans to invest around EGP 16 million.

www.ibnsina-pharma.com

3elagi.com