Kasha Secures $21 Million Series B Funding Led by Knife Capital to Advance Health Access Platform Across Africa
The rapidly growing youth population in Africa highlights the critical need for innovative healthcare solutions that cater to the continent's future medical demands. While the pandemic brought attention to Africa's private healthcare space, women's health, a subcategory primarily led by female founders, addressing menstrual and reproductive health, has been somewhat overlooked.
However, following the footsteps of other emerging markets, it's only a matter of time before this category garners the venture capital support it deserves. The recent $21 million Series B investment in Kasha, a Rwandan startup, serves as a subtle testament to this fact.
Kasha stands out as a unique women's health startup, founded in 2016 by CEO Joanna Bichsel. Described as a digital retail platform catering to a wide range of customers, Kasha focuses on women's health elements. The seven-year-old startup operates as a digital retail and last-mile distribution platform for pharmaceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), specifically targeting women's healthcare needs and household items. It serves various customers, including individual consumers, small resellers, hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics, allowing them to order products such as sanitary pads, contraceptives, diapers, and cleaning supplies through its website or USSD.
Initially confined to the Rwandan market with a direct-to-consumer model, Kasha expanded its services as small shops started ordering these health products. Sensing the opportunity, the startup ventured into wholesale after obtaining the necessary pharmaceutical license, enabling it to serve pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics. Kasha's product range covers newborn child health, maternal health, menstrual hygiene, family planning, sexual and reproductive health, and noncommunicable diseases.
Founder and CEO Joanna Bichsel emphasizes Kasha's understanding of women's influence in the health space, both as primary health needs holders and decision-makers in households. To address stigmatization surrounding women's health products, Kasha intentionally offers a wide variety of items, from personal care products like soap to health products like contraceptives and household staples like rice. The platform's most popular products include HIV self-tests, contraceptives, and pregnancy tests, and Kasha continues to expand its product range based on customer demand and diverse customer segments.
Kasha previously raised $1.5 million in seed funding from angel and impact investors, and in late 2020, after expanding into Kenya, secured a $3.6 million Series A led by Finnfund, Swedfund, DFC, and Mastercard Corporate. The recent Series B funding, led by Knife Capital, with participation from various investors like Finnfund, DFC, Tim Koogle (ex-Yahoo CEO), Beyond Capital Ventures, Altree Capital,
Kasha, a B2B e-commerce platform, plans to expand into South and West Africa later this year. The company focuses on health products, telehealth, and credit services, ensuring product legitimacy and giving global health organizations visibility. Keet van Zyl, co-founder and partner at Knife Capital, lauds Kasha's high-growth capital-efficient model, particularly its focus on women clients. Kasha is well-positioned to realize its aspirations and expand across Africa, with Knife Capital leading the Series B investment and a solid track record of scaling portfolio companies across Africa.
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