For a long time, buying medicine in Nigeria has meant walking into a local chemist, taking whatever price is quoted without much room to compare, and having no reliable way to confirm that wh
For a long time, buying medicine in Nigeria has meant walking into a local chemist, taking whatever price is quoted without much room to compare, and having no reliable way to confirm that what you’re handed is genuine.
Counterfeit and substandard drugs have been a persistent problem in the country’s pharmaceutical supply chain, and outside a handful of major cities, access to a properly stocked, staffed pharmacy isn’t always guaranteed either. Over the years, a growing number of Nigerian startups have set out to rebuild that experience, using apps, verified supplier networks and same-day delivery to close some of these gaps.
In April 2026, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria gazetted the Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026, replacing the older 2021 framework that had governed the sector. For the first time, the new rules formally distinguish between Electronic Pharmaceutical Service Providers, which directly sell and dispense medicines, and Electronic Pharmacy Aggregators, third-party platforms that connect multiple providers to consumers without owning the products themselves. That distinction reflects how varied this space has become; some platforms are consumer-facing pharmacies in their own right, while others work quietly behind the scenes to fix what pharmacies are able to stock and sell in the first place.
Here are seven platforms shaping how Nigerians buy medicine today, spanning both ends of that spectrum.
1. Medplus
photo credit: Medplus
Medplus began in 1993 as a physical pharmacy chain and has since grown into one of Nigeria’s largest, with more than 140 stores across Lagos, Ibadan and Kwara. Its online store now lets customers order medication, supplements and wellness products for home delivery or in-store pickup. It also includes an AI assistant, Medplus Assist, that helps customers check stock and ask medicine-related questions.
Customers can also access telehealth consultations, lab test bookings and vaccinations through the same platform, extending the chain’s reach well beyond its physical counters. The company, which was founded by Joke Bakare, remains its Chief Executive Officer. In March 2022, private equity firm Verod Capital acquired a significant minority stake in Medplus through its Verod Capital Growth Fund III, for an undisclosed sum, to fund store expansion and deepen the company’s digital channel.
2. OneHealth
photo credit: onehealth
OneHealth operates as both an online pharmacy and a pharmacy benefits manager, serving individuals, families, hospitals and HMOs. The technology-powered health platform says it has served more than 800,000 customers, offering same-day delivery to over 1,200 cities across all 36 Nigerian states.
Alongside direct pharmaceutical sales, OneHealth runs a subscription wellness arm, OneWellness, aimed at managing patients through their full treatment journey rather than a single purchase. The company was founded by Adeola Alli, a pharmacist with years of experience in the United States and the United Kingdom, who serves as CEO. It has counted Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) and Chui Ventures, a seed-stage fund, among its backers.
3. Famasi
Photo: Famasi
Rather than running its own pharmacy, Famasi connects customers to more than 1,000 partner pharmacies, letting them compare prices before ordering. In covered areas, deliveries are promised within 25 to 60 minutes, and the platform supports virtual consultations, auto-refill for chronic medication, order tracking, and the option to send medicines to family members elsewhere in the country or abroad.
Founded in 2021 by Adeola Ayoola, its chief executive, and Umar Faruq Akinwunmi, Famasi has focused on medication adherence for patients managing long-term conditions. In February 2023, it raised a $300,000 pre-seed round led by Microtraction, with participation from GetEquity and several angel investors.
4. DrugStoc
DrugStoc takes a different approach, focusing on the supply side rather than individual customers. Founded in 2015 by Chibuzo Opara and Adham Yehia, it operates a cloud-based procurement platform that connects pharmacies, hospitals and clinics to verified, quality-checked pharmaceutical suppliers, positioning itself as an anti-counterfeit layer in Nigeria’s drug distribution chain.
It closed a $4.4 million Series A round in 2021, led by the Africa HealthCare Master Fund (AAIC), with participation from Vested World and the German development finance institution DEG, and ranks among the more established health-tech procurement platforms operating in the country.
5. Remedial Health
Remedial-Health
Remedial Health, a Y Combinator-backed startup founded in 2020 by pharmacist Samuel Okwuada and Victor Benjamin, digitises the neighbourhood pharmacies and patent medicine vendors that together account for the bulk of Nigeria’s retail medicine sales. Its app gives these vendors tools for inventory management, order tracking and a buy-now-pay-later financing option, alongside a digital point-of-sale system introduced to help small pharmacy businesses run more profitably.
In 2023, it raised a $12 million Series A, made up of $8 million in equity and $4 million in debt, co-led by QED Investors and Ventures Platform, with Y Combinator, Tencent and Gaingels also participating. The startup sources products from major manufacturers including GSK, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
6. WellaHealth
Photo: WellaHealth
WellaHealth combines pharmacy benefits management with affordable micro health plans, distributed through a network of more than 2,000 retail pharmacies. It also helps community pharmacies keep digital dispensing records and uses automated SMS reminders to support patients in sticking to their medication schedules, addressing both affordability and adherence in one platform.
WellaHealth was founded in 2017 by Ikpeme Neto, a physician who returned to Nigeria after working in Ireland and New Zealand, and who serves as the Chief Executive Officer. It has been supported by Techstars, Google for Startups and the Catalyst Fund accelerator, which awarded it an equity-free grant of about $100,000.
7. Pharmarun
Photo credit: Pharmarun
Founded in 2021 and based in Lagos, Pharmarun offers a mobile app through which customers can browse medications, place orders, make payments and access teleconsultations with healthcare professionals. It leans on a network of partner pharmacies to fulfil orders and deliver them directly to customers, combining the ordering and consultation steps of a pharmacy visit into a single digital process.
The startup was co-founded by Teniola Adedeji, a pharmacist who once worked at the drug regulator NAFDAC and serves as chief executive, and Funmilola Aderemi, a product manager. It began as a WhatsApp community and now serves more than 115,000 users; its early backing included angel investment from Fedha Capital and a $10,000 equity-free prize at the 2023 Pitch2Win competition.
These platforms point to consumer-facing apps making it easier and faster to buy medicine, and supply-chain platforms working to ensure that pharmacies stock genuine and reliably available medicine.
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