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AAIC Investment signs Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Drugstoc and Revital Healthcare

– In Advancement of the Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Consumables sectors in Nigeria, Kenya, and other African countries. –

Singapore- 6th January 2023- AAIC Investment Pte. Ltd. (AAIC Investment) agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Drugstoc at TICAD8 held in Tunisia on 27th August 2022 and Revital Healthcare on 5th December to collaborate in a wide range of business fields in which both companies are involved in the African region.

Drugstoc is an e-commerce platform in Nigeria that allows healthcare providers (hospitals and clinics) as well as pharmacies to procure pharmaceutical and medical products within 24 hours of ordering. It currently supplies more than 7,000 SKUs of pharmaceutical products to over 3,000 healthcare providers and private hospital groups, including Nigeria’s largest pharmacy chain and private hospital group.

The MOU signed at TICAD8 aims to foster development through broadening collaborations with stakeholders in the sector on the sales and marketing fronts, especially Japanese pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers that wish to enter Nigeria.

Revital Healthcare and Ohara Pharmaceuticals announced in December 2021 that they would collaborate to strengthen the manufacturing of medical consumables within Africa in pursuit of this common goal.

December 2022, two parties signed an MoU to bolster the manufacturing and sales capacities of medical supplies in the continent. Local media, including a Kenyan local TV program, covered this news.

Revital Healthcare is located in Kenya’s Special Economic Zone and manufactures disposable syringes and other medical supplies to be sold domestically and exported to neighbouring sub-Saharan countries and other Asian countries such as India.

Its manufacturing plant is the largest in sub-Saharan Africa and the only manufacturer in the region whose disposable syringes are accredited by WHO.

The signing of the MOU (photo provided by JETRO, at TICAD8 27th August 2022)
Left: Chibuzo Opara, CEO of Drugstoc
Right: Susumu Tsubaki, Director/CEO of AAIC Investment

The signing of the MoU with Revital Healthcare (Captured from Kenyan local TV, K24 TV LIVE, 6th December 2022)
Left: Ohara Seiji, President and CEO of Ohara Pharmaceutical
Middle: Dr Rajnikat Vora, Chairperson of Revital Healthcare (EPZ) Ltd
Right: Shigeru Handa, Director of AAIC Investment

■Drugstoc Inc. (“Drugstoc”)
Company name: Drugstoc Inc.
Headquarters: Lagos (Nigeria)
Representative: Chibuzo Opara, Adham Yehia, Co-Founders of Drugstoc
Year of Establishment: 2015
URL: https://drugstoc.com
Business Overview:
Drugstoc is an e-commerce platform in Nigeria that allows healthcare providers (hospitals, clinics) as well as pharmacies to procure pharmaceutical and medical products within 24 hours of ordering. It currently supplies more than 7,000 SKUs of pharmaceutical products to over 3,000 healthcare providers and private hospital groups, including Nigeria’s largest pharmacy chain and private hospital group.

■Revital Healthcare (EPZ) Ltd (“Revital Healthcare”)
Company name: Revital Healthcare (EPZ) Limited
Headquarters: Mombasa
Representative: Dr Rajnikat Vora
Year of Establishment: 2007
URL: https://www.revitalhcare.com
Business Overview:
Revital Healthcare manufactures over 45 high-quality but affordable medical devices ranging from various Syringes (RUP/AD and Conventional), Rapid Covid Antigen Test Kits, Rapid Malaria Test Kits, respiratory support products (bCPAP) for infants, PPE Kits, Surgical Face Masks, Viral Transport Medium Kits, and many more. With a workforce of 500 people, 80% are women. The benefits of hiring more women are the issue of sustainability, self-independence, empowerment, and freedom to enjoy social and economic benefits, which further directly benefit our society at large. Revital is also accredited by several international organizations such as; WHO-PQS, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, CE-TUV, WHO-GMP, US-FDA-EUA, Health Canada, NAFDAQ, MHRA, TGA, and many more.

■AAIC Investment Pte. Ltd. (“AAIC Investment”)
Company name: AAIC Investment Pte. Ltd.
Location of Headquarters: Singapore
Representative: Susumu Tsubaki
Year of Establishment: 2013
URL: https://aaicinvestment.com
Business Overview:
Established in Singapore in 2013, AAIC Investment is the fund management arm of AAIC Holdings. It began with supporting the activities of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) arms of Japanese corporations in 2014 before establishing the first Africa-focused Japanese fund (the Africa Healthcare Fund, AHF1) in 2017. In 2022, it launched the Africa Innovation and Healthcare Fund (AHF2), reached its first close at the end of March 2022. AAIC Investment has invested more than 30 companies through AHF1 and AHF2(As of November 2022).