Inspired by motherhood, Bichsel founded the digital retail platform responsible for providing women of Rwanda and Kenya with healthcare products; Beyond Capital Ventures leads Kasha’s Series A2 Bridge funding round
Newly launched women-led impact venture capital firm Beyond Capital Ventures is pleased to announce its second-ever investment: Kasha Global, the leading femtech retailer in East Africa for high quality, affordable health and personal care products. Beyond Capital Ventures is leading Kasha’s Series A2 Bridge funding round with a $300,000 investment.
Founded in 2016 by CEO Joanna Bichsel, who previously served as Principal Technology Advisor for Global Development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and in various roles at Microsoft, Kasha is inspired by Joanna’s own motherhood journey, and the lack of access to costly women’s health and wellness products across Africa and other emerging markets.
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“The truth is, women are very influential customers in consumer products, health and family related household purchases. But when you look at how tech solutions are traditionally built, they are usually built by men for men. The largest customer base in health and personal care, which is women, is massively underserved,” says Joanna. “I want Kasha to make sure that no woman ever has a difficult time in getting the self-care products she needs to live her best life.”
Kasha currently has operations in Rwanda and Kenya, with over 8 million products delivered to date. The company aims to become a global leader in the provision of products and information surrounding women’s health and personal wellness in Africa and, as Bichsel stated, “disrupt global health forever.”
“We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Kasha. Joanna and her team are deeply passionate about revolutionizing women’s access to healthcare,” said Eva Yazhari, Beyond Capital Ventures General Partner. “The team’s passion and commitment has allowed Kasha to navigate the pandemic and enter 2022 stronger than ever. I look forward to supporting Kasha and seeing what this next phase of growth has in store for them.”
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The lack of access to and unaffordability of women’s health and wellness products that are persistent causes of poor health outcomes for women in Africa coupled with the social stigma surrounding personal care, have made it difficult if not impossible for many to obtain the goods and services critical to their health and wellness.
Kasha has built a recognized, trusted brand in East Africa. The company empowers its mostly female customer base and network of sales agents by selling health and pharmaceutical products to smaller retailers and also reaches consumer customers directly to the last mile. Kasha’s innovative mass market consumer-facing platform also disseminates information around women’s health and wellness.
Amongst its peers, Kasha uniquely offers online and offline services across all income levels. In some parts of Kenya, Kasha’s robust delivery ecosystem has made it the only digital rural delivery provider of any kind.
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