Top-notch health-tech supply chain platform Medikabazaar to enter Saudi market

RIYADH: Prominent medical supplies company Medikabazaar, India’s pioneering and largest B2B platform for medical supplies, devices, and pharmaceuticals, has announced plans for major expansion in MENA region.

The Mumbai-based company has recently opened it’s office in Dubai and is planning to hire a team of top-notch professionals to run its operations and services in the region and is currently doing business feasibility analysis for formal entry in the Saudi Arabia next year.

These announcements were made by Vivek Tiwari, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Medikabazaar, who was in the Saudi capital recently to kick start the prelaunch efforts for entering the Saudi market. Vivek met and spoke with some of the healthcare industry leaders regarding the issues, challenges and potential of health-tech based solutions to improve the healthcare in the country.

Medikabazaar is India’s fastest-growing health-tech products and solutions entity, and its technology has a legacy of game-changing innovations in the domain of medical supplies procurement, inventory management and supply chain. Medikabazaar, with a catalog of over 750,000 products, is now the most prominent digital platform in India in terms of medical procurement and supply chain.

The company has more than 15,000 partner suppliers catering to the needs of 150,000 medical establishments and independent practitioners. It is a fast-expanding Healthcare supply chain enterprise having offices in India, China, Singapore & UAE and it currently caters to customers in over 18 countries.

The likelihood of Medikabazaar to enter the Saudi market is particularly significant keeping in view the growing requirements for medical supplies in the Kingdom. To this end, it is important to note that the Saudi pharmaceutical market stood at $10,849.4 million in 2021. The pharmaceutical market is expected to reach $19,764.8 million in 2028 at a CAGR of 9.3 percent during the forecast period of 2022-2028.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s medical devices market is projected to grow at a formidable rate due to the growing geriatric population, technological advancements, and increased government focus on the healthcare sector, as per the Saudi Vision 2030. The Saudi National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NDLP) has predicted that the size of the Saudi medical devices and equipment market is more than five billion dollars, recording an annual growth of about 4.4 percent.

Asked about the reasons behind his decision to enter the Saudi market, Tiwari, popularly known as the doyen of the healthcare commerce business in India, said that “Saudi Arabia is an import-driven market with advanced medical devices majorly being imported from Europe and the US due to insufficient local supply.” “On top of this, the number of primary healthcare center visits per capita is expected to double by 2030 following the push for preventive care in the Kingdom,” he added.

He pointed out that he is excited with the fact that the Saudi government is planning to launch various health clusters, expand e-health services and digital solutions, and improve the quality of healthcare infrastructure.

Spelling out the features of this largest online platform, Tiwari said: “We serve as a single-point solution for all consolidated medical procurement through an intuitive, past consumption-based automated order management system. The digital marketplace model of Medikabazaar is backed by the substantial on-ground infrastructure and strong operations team with over 45 fulfillment centers across various parts of India, last-mile delivery unit MBGo encompassing riders, trucks, and drones,” he explained.

He further pointed out that Medikabazaar’s unique VPO model is a smart and efficient transformational business solution that acts as a ‘One Stop solution’ for medical establishments by aggregating entire procurement of thousands of SKUs and eliminating the need to deal with a large number of vendors. “With the right vision, robust technology, high-tech operations, and effective communication, Medikabazaar has pledged to make the world a healthier place,” said Tiwari.

Tiwari, who has received several industry accolades, said that the company had attracted several investors from around the globe, while many investors have evinced keen interest in investing. Medikabazaar has raised over $175 Mn so far and recently raised $65 million in funding led by private equity firm Lighthouse’s India Fund III. The fundraising would help Medikabazaar to expand its operations in other countries apart from improving its supply chain ecosystem in India.

In another exciting development, Medikabazaar recently launched the pilot drone project in collaboration with Redwing Labs to transport medical supplies and assess the potential of drones as an alternative last-minute delivery option, especially in emergency scenarios in India. The company has also recently announced the launch of MBARC, an end-to-end medical equipment service platform that helps hospitals to manage their biomedical assets efficiently.

—–INDIA NEWS STREAM