• Egypt-based healthtech Chefaa, has secured a $5.25 million investment, co-led by Newtown Partners (South Africa) and Global Brain (Japan), with GMS Capital Partners LLC (US), Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (Nigeria), and M3, Inc. (Japan).
• Founded in 2017 by Rasha Rady and Doaa Aref, the female-led healthtech is an e-pharmacy platform that provides an end-to-end healthcare experience.
• Having recently launched operations in Saudi Arabia, Chefaa will use the funding to enhance its presence in the kingdom and scale all models designed to digitise the supply chain.

Press release:

Chefaa, a patient-centric pharmacy benefits platform, has secured $5.25 million in a strategic leap from new and existing investors. It was co-led by Newtown Partners (South Africa) and Global Brain (Japan), with GMS Capital Partners LLC (US), Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (Nigeria), and M3, Inc. (Japan).

The investment comes after Chefaa's successful launch of operations in KSA, where Chefaa is now operating in 8 Saudi cities. Moreover, this strategic funding will support Chefaa's efforts to scale all models designed to digitise the supply chain and empower industry stakeholders, which inevitably reflect on users’ experiences and boost compliance with treatment. The main mission of Chefaa remains to lead the safe digital transformation of healthcare through a patient-centric, comprehensive approach.

“Our follow-on investment in Chefaa via DP World’s Innovation Venture Fund reflects our continued conviction that we have a capable set of entrepreneurs in Doaa and Rasha making excellent progress in the massive opportunity to improve healthcare access in GCC and SSA by digitising healthcare user interfaces,” said Llew Claasen, Managing Partner, Newtown Partners.

“As we have seen solid growth in this tough business climate since 2022, we truly believe that Chefaa is becoming the uppermost patient-centric service provider in the region. We are delighted to make the decision to have an additional investment and prepared to continuously back the team to further enhance the accessibility of medical services ,” said Hiroto SORITA

Director, Investment Group, Global Brain Corporation.

"Chefaa has made significant strides in improving healthcare accessibility in Egypt, and we are particularly excited about their entry into the Saudi market. Since our initial investment, Chefaa has consistently demonstrated a commitment to innovation and skillfully leveraged data to forge impactful partnerships with large pharmaceutical players. This follow-on investment underscores our confidence in Chefaa's innovative strategies to reshape the future of healthcare delivery in the region," said Yezan Haddadin, CEO of GMS Capital Partners LLC.

"Chefaa is uniquely positioned to transform the retail pharmaceutical supply chain in Africa. We firmly believe that with their wide-ranging product offerings serving multiple stakeholders, Chefaa will become a critical business infrastructure for pharmaceutical supply chains in Egypt and the broader Gulf region," said Ryosuke (Rio) Yamawaki, Partner at VEROD-KEPPLE AFRICA VENTURES, and he emphasised the firm's focus on investing in category-defining African start-ups.

“Chefaa continues to prioritise market needs in the face of the continuous challenges. This has resulted in designing new services and features with our eyes on our mission and vision. We focus on measuring Chefaa’s impact as we grow. We are thrilled that our investors share our passion and believe in our vision and mission.” Doaa Aref, CEO of Chefaa.