Zendawa brings AI-driven stock control and credit scoring to neighbourhood pharmacies in Kenya
The AI-powered platform is being used by hundreds of small pharmacies in Nairobi and Nakuru to cut medicine waste, speed deliveries and unlock access to working capital, addressing structural shortages in the country’s pharmacy sector.
Zendawa, an artificial intelligence-powered pharmacy management app, is being adopted by neighbourhood pharmacies in Nairobi and Nakuru to improve stock management, accelerate deliveries and generate business intelligence.
According to Zendawa, the platform has onboarded 820 pharmacies since beginning operations in 2023. The app integrates Microsoft Copilot 365 and Power BI to provide real-time inventory alerts, demand forecasting and data-driven insights into sales and cash flow.
Pharmacies using Zendawa report reduced waste and improved revenues. “Before Zendawa, we were losing around 6,000 Kenyan shillings [about $45] per month on expired medications,” said Dr. Bramwel Othieno of Ryche Pharmacy. He added that minimum daily sales at his outlet increased to 20,000 Kenyan shillings, about $154, from 12,000 Kenyan shillings previously.
Related reading
- Deepgram sets out real-world framework to benchmark medical speech recognition accuracy
- Raspberry Pi launches AI HAT+ 2 to bring generative AI to the edge
- IBM unveils Sovereign Core to help organisations run AI under local control
Zendawa’s delivery system applies machine learning to match customer orders with the nearest pharmacy holding available stock, then assigns delivery to a motorcycle driver, reducing fulfilment times and stock imbalances. Beyond logistics, the platform generates a pharmacy-specific credit score using transaction history, cash flow patterns and operational data. This score allows participating pharmacies to apply for working capital from licensed credit providers. “It’s our own scoring system and so far, we’ve not had any mismatch,” said Wilfred Chege, co-founder and chief executive officer of Zendawa.
The company positions the platform as infrastructure for under-resourced health systems. Data from the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory show Kenya has around two pharmacists per thousand people, compared with 111 per thousand in the United States. Zendawa aims to narrow that gap by improving pharmacy efficiency, reducing medication waste and expanding access to financing at the community level.
The Recap
- Zendawa deploys AI inventory and delivery tools for small pharmacies.
- Zendawa has onboarded 820 pharmacies since starting operations in 2023.
- Ryche Pharmacy aims to cut expired‑drug losses to zero.
