Nigerian healthtech startup Mariam Grey is expanding access to medicines and healthcare services by combining artificial intelligence, remote pharmacy consultations and USSD technology to reach patients beyond conventional urban digital-health markets.
Founded in 2018, the startup has developed an AI assistant, Mummy Grey, which provides initial guidance on over-the-counter medicines, screens uploaded prescriptions and connects patients with pharmacists and doctors when professional intervention is required.
The company also works with hundreds of partner pharmacies across multiple Nigerian states, allowing patients to access medicines without necessarily visiting a physical pharmacy.
According to founder and licensed pharmacist Jennifer Esiaba, the platform was designed to address gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system, particularly among underserved communities.
“For patients without smartphones or reliable internet, we also built a USSD channel,” said Esiaba.
She stressed further that digital healthcare should not be limited to people with modern devices or constant internet access.
Targeting Nigeria’s last-mile healthcare problem
At the heart of Mariam Grey’s business model is a problem that continues to affect healthcare delivery in Nigeria, ensuring that medicines and professional healthcare services actually reach the people who need them.
While pharmacies, hospitals and digital health platforms may exist, patients in underserved and semi-urban communities can still face difficulties locating reliable pharmacies, verifying medicines or obtaining appropriate professional advice.
Esiaba described the challenge as a breakdown in healthcare access “at the last mile”, noting that patients in underserved and semi-urban areas may struggle either to reach a reliable pharmacy or to establish whether medicines are genuine and appropriately dispensed.
She argued that many existing digital-health services have been designed primarily for “smartphone-owning, urban, English-speaking users,” leaving a significant section of the population outside the digital healthcare ecosystem.
Mariam Grey is attempting to close that gap by combining digital technology with a physical network of verified pharmacies. Rather than requiring the company to build pharmacies from scratch, the platform connects patients to partner pharmacies where medicines can be sourced and dispensed.
This approach allows Mariam Grey to use existing healthcare infrastructure while providing a digital interface through which patients can access medicines, pharmacists and other services.
The company’s focus on multilingual support and low-connectivity access also reflects an understanding of Nigeria’s diverse population and uneven digital infrastructure.
Its USSD channel is particularly significant because it allows people without smartphones or reliable internet connections to interact with the service using basic mobile phones.
Mummy Grey uses AI while keeping pharmacists in the loop
Artificial intelligence is one of Mariam Grey’s most visible technologies through its Mummy Grey assistant, which serves as an initial point of interaction for patients seeking medication guidance.
The system can assess symptoms and recommend appropriate over-the-counter medicines, while also screening prescriptions uploaded by users before they are routed to a pharmacist for confirmation.
The model is designed to distinguish between relatively straightforward medication requests and situations that require professional medical intervention.
Rather than positioning artificial intelligence as a replacement for pharmacists or doctors, Mariam Grey uses it as an initial layer of support before bringing qualified professionals into the process.
This is particularly important in healthcare, where inaccurate recommendations can have serious consequences.
The company therefore combines automated guidance with human oversight, allowing pharmacists to confirm prescriptions and intervene where necessary. Patients can also book consultations with doctors through the platform, extending the service beyond basic medicine purchases.
Esiaba described this approach as “AI triage” that can still route clinically serious cases to a real pharmacist. This creates a model in which AI is used primarily to improve accessibility and efficiency, while licensed healthcare professionals remain central to decisions requiring clinical judgment.
The technology is therefore not simply about creating a chatbot that tells patients what medicine to take. Instead, Mariam Grey is attempting to build an integrated digital pathway in which artificial intelligence can handle some of the initial interactions while pharmacists and doctors provide professional oversight when required.
The integrated community healthcare platform
Mariam Grey’s ambitions extend beyond medicine sales. The startup combines verified pharmacy inventory aggregation, telepharmacy consultations, home medicine delivery, home laboratory sample collection, digital doctor consultations, AI-powered medication guidance, HMO integration and community health programmes within its wider healthcare platform.
This broader strategy is reflected in Esiaba’s description of the company.
“Rather than trying to compete only as an online pharmacy, we position as an AI-enabled integrated community healthcare platform,” she said.
The distinction is important because an online pharmacy primarily focuses on helping consumers purchase medicines. Mariam Grey, by contrast, is attempting to connect several parts of the healthcare journey.
A patient could potentially use the platform to identify a medicine, obtain pharmacist guidance, arrange a doctor’s consultation, order the medicine and organise laboratory services without physically navigating several different healthcare providers.
Its pharmacy network is also central to the model. By working with hundreds of partner pharmacies across multiple states, Mariam Grey can potentially combine digital convenience with physical healthcare infrastructure.
The platform does not have to own every pharmacy involved in fulfilling a patient’s request; instead, it can operate as the technology and coordination layer linking patients with existing providers.
The company says the approach has already attracted more than 9,000 active paying patients across multiple Nigerian states.
It has also introduced a subscription model and the Grey Card loyalty programme, which includes four tiers and culminates in Grey Elite VIP, in an effort to encourage customer retention and recurring usage.
Financial needs to scale beyond 9,000 patients
Having built its operations largely through bootstrapping and support from angel investors using SAFE agreements, Mariam Grey is now seeking US$350,000 in pre-seed funding to accelerate its expansion.
The startup plans to deploy the new capital toward product development, stronger technology infrastructure and operational expansion across Nigeria. The fundraising effort comes as the company seeks to transition from an early-stage healthcare platform into a larger national service.
Esiaba said the startup’s immediate objective is to grow from its current customer base toward 20,000 active patients within the next 18 months. Its longer-term ambition is considerably larger, with the company targeting more than 300,000 patients nationwide.
The expansion strategy also includes specialised healthcare offerings. Mariam Grey’s first vertical expansion is Horient Health, which focuses on paediatric care.
The company expects other condition-specific or demographic-specific healthcare verticals to potentially follow the same model.
Its revenue currently comes primarily from patient orders, supplemented by recurring subscription revenue generated through its loyalty programme. This gives the company both transaction-based and recurring income streams as it expands its patient base.
The fundraising round is therefore intended not only to increase the number of users but also to strengthen the infrastructure required to serve them reliably.
Scaling digital healthcare across Nigeria requires technology capable of functioning in low-resource environments, dependable pharmacy partnerships and operational systems capable of maintaining service quality across different locations.
Trust, regulation and reliability remain key hurdles
Despite its growth, Mariam Grey faces challenges common to digital-health businesses operating in emerging markets.
Among the company’s biggest concerns are building consumer trust in digital healthcare, navigating Nigeria’s complex regulatory environment and ensuring reliable last-mile delivery within a fragmented healthcare system.
Healthcare is particularly sensitive because mistakes involving medicines or medical advice can have serious consequences. Mariam Grey therefore needs patients to trust both its technology and the pharmacies and healthcare professionals connected to the platform.
Esiaba acknowledged that convincing patients to embrace digital pharmacy services required “consistent education and strong execution”.
The company also had to invest significantly in operational excellence and quality assurance as it expanded its network of pharmacy partners.
Rather than treating these difficulties solely as obstacles, the startup says it has attempted to turn them into competitive advantages.
Its strategy has involved establishing trusted pharmacy relationships, maintaining regulatory compliance, developing technology suitable for low-resource environments and improving the overall customer experience.
“These lessons have strengthened our execution and positioned us well for scale,” Esiaba said.
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