Healthtech startup, Chekkit announces $500k pre-seed, plan to protect 100m lives

Nigerian tracking and monitoring health tech startup, Chekkit a pre-seed funding round of $500,000. The round had participation from the Pan-African VC fund, Launch Africa, Japanese government investment fund, Japan Strategic capital, the Blockchain Founders Fund, two syndicate groups of angel investors with completing grants from the Orange Corners programme.

According to a statement by the startup, the funds will be utilised to further strengthening its anti-counterfeiting and consumer engagement solutions as well as building robust supply chain tracking and infrastructural optimisation technologies in order to directly protect up to 100 million lives across the globe.

Chekkit is a Nigeria-based startup that focuses on ensuring product integrity across the value chain. With its blockchain technology, Chekkit is able to monitor premium packaged goods and products through the unique tamper-proof ID it gives to individual products. 

The startup was founded by Dare Odumade (a UI/UX expert) and Jida Asare (a Pharmacist and software developer). Since its launch, the startup has developed two solutions: Consumer Intelligence and Supply Chain Tracking.

The statement said that the startup has helped protect consumers and producers in both Nigeria and Afghanistan from the dangers of counterfeit products over the past 2 years.

Its achievements include securing over 7 million pharmaceutical products and protecting over 200,000 consumers as well as a partnership with the Afghan government for the verification and tracking of over 200 million products.

This was achieved through a partnership with pharmaceutical companies like Merck, Royal Star Pharma, Nabros Pharmaceutical, it said.

Speaking on the raise, CEO, Dare Odumade said:

We are super-pumped about the future as we develop unique technological products to protect the lives of millions and also directly improve the act of doing business for several brands by learning about consumers in the largely informal African markets.

Speaking on why they chose Chekkit as a viable investment, Biola Alabi, co-leader of one of the angel syndicate groups also said:

Investing in Chekkit Technologies was no brainer, they are tackling the scourge of fake drugs in Nigeria and across emerging markets globally, one of the biggest challenges still facing the pharmaceutical and healthcare systems in Africa is fake and substandard drugs, weak regulatory environments and lack of consumer education.  Fake and substandard drugs are responsible for thousands of deaths annually across Africa

Biola will also be joining our advisory board, bringing in years of experience in media and communications as well as industry-related know-how as she currently serves as a non-executive director at Unilever Nigeria Plc.