Across Kenya, small chemists serve as the first point of care for most citizens, handling primary health needs and selling medicines. Yet despite their critical role, most remain offline, under-financed, and overlooked by mainstream health innovation. Zendawa, a digital healthtech startup operating across Kiambu and Nairobi, is trying to change that.
Founded in 2022, Zendawa days it is bringing thousands of last-mile pharmacies online. Its 16-person team has built a modular software platform that connects chemists to verified distributors, working capital, and basic business tools, aiming to modernise Africa’s retail healthcare system.
What makes Zendawa different is its modular architecture. Pharmacies can choose only the services they need, without replacing their current systems.
“Our main adoption barrier has been pharmacies that already have a management system,” Will Chege, Zendawa CEO, said. “We innovated around this by making our platform modular, such that they do not need to migrate from the systems but rather adopt the modules from our system, which they do not have access to.”
What You Should Know
Zendawa operates at the intersection of SaaS, fintech, and B2B marketplace economics. Its most-used product, the management software, is free. The company says it earns revenue through marketplace commissions on restocking orders and service fees on credit repayments.
Although it does not lend directly from its own balance sheet, Zendawa partners with financial institutions who use its transaction data to advance loans. The startup reports a 98% repayment rate, earning a 1% service fee on each successful repayment.
According to the company, its platform is built around three key tools:
- A telepharmacy marketplace that links local pharmacies to verified medical distributors for faster, transparent restocking.
- Business management software that simplifies payments, inventory tracking, and reconciliation.
- An embedded finance system that uses transaction data to power credit scoring and working capital loans.
This flexibility has driven adoption through referrals and professional networks like the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, helping Zendawa onboard hundreds of pharmacies since launch.
Inside Zendawa’s Business Model
At the heart of Zendawa’s strategy is its “data-to-credit” model. Every sale, repayment, and order on the platform contributes to a financial profile that lenders can trust.
Chege says this approach could solve one of African healthcare’s biggest problems: access to capital for small, community-based pharmacies.
He added that this data-driven lending system also helps reduce default risk, opening a pathway for pharmacies to scale operations, restock efficiently, and expand into new communities.
The startup says it plans to enable card and mobile money payments directly in pharmacies, earning a small processing fee from each transaction. For now, it remains founder-funded, with no external investment announced.
What This Means
While Zendawa’s foundation is digital, the company is developing a USSD version of its platform to reach pharmacies without smartphones or stable internet. However, adoption in rural areas comes with behavioural challenges.
“Some communities are skeptical of adopting digital channels to access medications,” the CEO admitted. “We are working around this by lobbying to partner with community health workers to promote our approach. This is an on-going development.”
To support logistics, Zendawa relies on a flexible delivery model that dispatches riders on demand, ensuring even low-density areas are served efficiently.
Zendawa say its next leap is Zental.AI, an automation layer for pharmacy operations. The system uses computer vision and machine learning to read prescriptions, manage restocking, and remind patients to refill medications. It can also forecast inventory needs, reducing waste from expired drugs and optimising supply.
Given the sensitive nature of health data, the company says its AI systems comply with both Kenya’s Data Protection Act and the EU’s GDPR. Encryption, anonymisation, and informed consent are built into the workflow, and all diagnostic features remain under human oversight.
Competing in a Crowded Health-Tech Market
Africa’s pharmaceutical market is rapidly growing and it is projected to reach $118.3 billion by 2032. In Kenya, the health-tech scene is already competitive, with players like MYDAWA focusing on direct-to-consumer drug delivery and Maisha Meds digitising pharmacy operations.
Chege believes Zendawa differentiates itself through its modular, asset-light model, which preserves the independence of local pharmacies rather than consolidating them under a single brand.
“Our modular approach gives us a low entry point with a unique growth path for our pharmacies. This is a long-term play where we build up our pharmacies while maintaining their independence to offer quality care at a fraction of the cost,” Chege said.
Zendawa says its long-term vision extends beyond software or fintech. Its goal is to become the digital infrastructure layer powering Africa’s neighbourhood pharmacies.
By embedding digital systems into community pharmacies, Zendawa aims to standardise how medicine, money, and data flow through Africa’s healthcare value chain.
Talking Points
It is remarkable that Zendawa is building its platform around neighbourhood pharmacies, a segment that handles most of Africa’s medicine distribution yet remains largely offline and underserved.
By focusing on digitising these micro-pharmacies, Zendawa addresses one of the continent’s biggest healthcare bottlenecks: fragmented supply chains and limited access to credit.
At Techparley, we see this as an example of infrastructure innovation, not disruption. By connecting pharmacies to verified suppliers and financing partners, Zendawa strengthens the foundation of healthcare delivery rather than trying to replace it.
Scaling beyond urban areas will require trust-building, partnerships with community health workers, and user education to overcome resistance to digital tools. Reliable logistics and consistent power supply will also determine how effectively the model expands across rural Africa.
With the right partnerships, Zendawa has the potential to become the backbone of pharmacy infrastructure in Africa, powering the continent’s healthcare systems with data, credit, and digital tools.
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