How Gregory Rockson is improving health services in Africa

A world where a mother has to choose between medications for her health or education for her child is an unjust world.” This quote on Gregory’s LinkedIn page is an insight into the mission of mPharma, an innovative technology-driven health inventory and retail pharmacy company operating in nine countries; Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Malawi, and Uganda.

The company is building a community of pharmacies across Africa to provide easier and better quality healthcare service to the millions of people on the continent.

Gregory Rockson is the co-founder and CEO of mPharma, its inventory management system is used in over 850 pharmacy stores in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Malawi, and Uganda.

The company is working to improve access and affordability of high-quality drugs for patients across Africa. It has 155 hospital partners, 850 pharmacies and drug stores, and over 2 million patients. Its intervention in the healthcare industry has helped over 400,000 patients purchase high-quality medicine at a cheaper cost.

mPharma was founded in 2013 by Gregory Rockson, Daniel Shoukimas, and James Finucorie as a pharmacy offering high-quality medical and pharmaceutical supplies in Ghana. Within a few years, the healthcare business has expanded to nine African countries, with its headquarters in Ghana, and is building a scalable drug inventory management using the Airbnb model to enable vendor-managed inventory for healthcare providers in Africa.

Gregory and his co-founders are focused on building an Africa with good health by developing a tech system for medical practitioners and medical offices to leverage in solving challenges in the provision of good healthcare. mPharma’s objective is to connect patients, hospitals, and pharmacies; to enable doctors, hospitals, and patients to know the exact location and availability of medicines for better access.

By increasing patients’ access to drugs at reduced costs while sustaining quality, mPharma is continually improving health interventions, bridging gaps in healthcare provision, and bringing vital services closer to communities through online and offline channels.

The company launched ‘bloom,’ a flagship software product defined as the operating software for the modern African pharmacy. It extends beyond most hospital software used in easing workflows and capturing data, as well as tablets or computing. It is directly tied to mPharma’s core value proposition of vendor-managed, data-driven, diverse management, data management, and e-commerce services; and is an interface that enables pharmacies to connect to mPharma and offer value to their patients.

In recent months, mPharma is strategically diversifying its assets and expanded operations with the acquisition of a 55% stake in Vine Pharmacy in Uganda, and a franchise agreement with Belayab Pharmaceuticals in Ethiopia. It acquired Halton’s pharmacy in Kenya and a majority stake in Nigeria’s HealthPlus.

In July 2022, mPharma launched ‘Facility Insight,’ an optimized customer-centric product designed to aid clinical decision-making. The easy-to-use online platform generates real-time accurate data 24/7, including sales, profits, product reports, and other insights. The new system provides information to aid well-informed decision-making for pharmacy management.

Gregory Rockson is a Ghanaian who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Government from both Westminster College and the University of Copenhagen. He studied Policy and International Affairs at Princeton University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Ghana.

Aside from mPharma, he is the Executive Chairman of ‘Vine Pharmaceuticals,’ and also the Executive Chairman of Holtons Limited, and was named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans in 2020 and 2022 by the New African Magazine.