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Kasha, a Rwandan last-mile delivery and digital retail platform for women’s health needs, raised $21 million in a Series B funding round.
Knife Capital, a South African venture capital firm, took the lead in the funding round.
Finnfund, Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Tim Koogle, the former CEO of Yahoo, Beyond Capital Ventures, Altree Capital, Bamboo Capital’s BLOC Smart Africa Fund, and Five35 Ventures are some of the other companies that took part in the round.
Joanna Bichsel launched Kasha in 2018. The business initially only served the Rwandan market, using a direct-to-consumer business model to offer last-mile delivery services for health products geared toward pregnant women and new mothers.
However, it didn’t take long before small businesses started expressing interest in buying the same goods.
“We have always understood that women are the most influential customer in the health space, both because they have the most health needs and are the decision-makers for health in the household and unlock the rest of the population,” said Kasha’s founder and CEO. Since many health products for women are stigmatized, Kasha has purposely offered a wide variety of products, including personal care products like soap, health products like contraceptives, and household staples like rice.”
After gaining the required pharmaceutical license to service pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics, Klasha expanded into the wholesale industry.
The extensive range of products offered by Kasha includes family planning, menstrual hygiene, newborn child health, maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, and non-communicable diseases.
With a major focus on addressing women’s healthcare needs and domestic necessities, Kasha now functions as a digital retail and last-mile distribution platform for pharmaceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs).
With the new capital, the company will be able to expand its health access platform across Africa.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Payday, a Rwandan neobank startup, receives $3 million in a seed round
Hence Technologies, a Rwandan online marketplace for lawyers, has received $1.8 million in funding
Ampersand, a Rwandan electric motorcycle startup, has secured a $9 million loan facility
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