The world is moving fast towards the digital space and Kenya is no exception. Kenyans, being a dynamic lot, have embraced technology thanks to wide internet coverage across the country. This has also given rise to inventions that are life changing.
In this article, WoK takes a look at the two doctors and a software engineer behind Pharmily.co.ke – an online pharmacy that provides accessibility to quality health, beauty and pharmaceutical products.
Pharmily Founders
Pharmily was founded by Dr. Geoffrey Kiprop, Dr. David Onamu and Mr. Daniel Namanga. Dr Kiprop and Dr. Onamu both did a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and are passionate about patient care and medication management therapy. On the other hand, Mr. Namanga is a qualified and renowned IT developer and serves as Pharmily’s software engineer working on the pharmacy’s website. Currently the pharmacy is made up of a team of eight people –who serve in different capacities and areas of specialization. The group is composed of young people under 30 years who believe in the dream and are passionate about providing cheap and reliable medical solutions to Kenyans.
The idea behind Pharmily
The three founders came up with the idea of starting the online pharmacy in 2020 when the Covid pandemic was at its peak and everyone was literally scared of even getting out of the house. Their vision was to provide quality and affordable products to the public at their convenience. The platform saves people’s time of having to physically walk into an institution to get medication but rather just order online and the medicine will be delivered to your office or home. It also acts as a safe space for people in rural areas who can’t access certain select products in their local hospitals but can easily order from their platform and get the product delivered to their village.
How to order medicine and other products on the platform
You are required to visit Pharmily.co.ke then once you are on the platform, you search for the item you are looking for. If it is available, you add the product to the cart, put in the delivery location address, sign up or sign in, complete the checkout process then pay upon delivery. If you are within Nairobi and its surroundings, there are select items that are delivered in less than four hours. The rest are delivered within 4 to 24 hours. It will take a day or two for your orders to be delivered to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru or Eldoret.
Challenges in the online space
Speaking to Businesstoday.co.ke, Dr Kiprop revealed that Kenya’s online shopping habits are quite unique.
“It is hard to satisfy clients’ needs. Which is always a good thing. They are always demanding better and better services. They want better prices, shorter delivery time, and more values. This means that we will always be on our toes,” said Dr. Kiprop.
He also went on to explain that online pharmacy practice is something new in Kenya and is still in the developing stage. This is both an advantage and a challenge at the same time. Advantage because there is a huge potential ahead and the future is quite promising but a challenge because the structures are not well defined unlike in the traditional pharmacies.