Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Backed Black-Owned Startup Secures $2 Million Seed Funding

Axmed, a B2B marketplace that addresses healthcare supply chain fragmentation, has secured $2 million in seed funding from Founderful Ventures to fuel its plan.

Axmed lowers the barriers to patients and providers accessing costly medicines while enabling manufacturers to expand their footprint in underserved markets.

The Swiss-based platform was co-founded by Emmanuel Akpakwu , Felix Ohnmacht, and Sofia Radley-Searle.

“We are not merely developing a medicines platform, Emmanuel Akpakwu, the Co-founder and CEO of Axmed said. “We are creating a bold new vision for the future of medicine accessibility. This vision not only empowers buyers but also unlocks the full potential of growth markets, allowing suppliers to compete effectively.”

The fresh investment was led by Founderful and follows an earlier $5 million in grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing total funds raised to $7 million. 

“We’re delighted to back this outstanding team,” added Lukas Weder, Founding Partner at Founderful. “The team’s commitment and enthusiasm for addressing this important challenge is inspiring. We have every confidence in their ability to reshape the $140 billion LMIC pharma market, improving access to medicines for over 6 billion individuals. “

Meet Axmed, a Swiss-Based Startup Improving Healthcare in Low Income Countries

Around 2 billion people, especially those in low- and middle-income countries, lack access to quality, affordable essential medicines. Low- and middle-income countries account for over 80 percent of the world’s population and more than 90 percent of its disease burden—yet represent a mere 6 percent of global pharmaceutical revenue. 

The situation is worsened by low-quality or even lethal counterfeit medicines filling the gap. This deficit means that diseases that would otherwise be treatable or preventable end up causing distress and even death.

Axmed developed a two-sided B2B marketplace platform that optimizes the procurement process for healthcare providers in emerging and growth markets, catering to public, third-sector, and private entities. 

The platform allows governments and other organizations from developing countries to order the necessary medicines. All orders for each medicine are then aggregated into one large order that provides demand in the volumes that pharmaceutical companies are looking for. This enables manufacturers to supply the drugs at prices that the less wealthy countries can afford to pay.

“The principle is that it shouldn’t matter whether you’re a small country or a large one – you should be paying the same price for essential medicines,” Akpakwu says. “We think our approach is a win-win outcome – it lowers the barriers to accessing costly medicines for patients and providers while enabling manufacturers to expand their footprint in underserved markets.”

Axmed’s initial target markets include Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Rwanda, where it intends to make inroads through faith-based institutions, non-governmental organizations, government-led care providers, and procurement agencies.

The startup is working with partners to fully vet the initial version of its product before a full launch later this year. The new funding will make maternal and child healthcare available in high-priority countries.