MIS: The Startup That’s Trying To Make It Easier To Find Medicine In Zim.

Back in 2021, we covered a startup on a mission to change the way we search for medicine. In Zim, it’s quite common for patients to go from pharmacy to pharmacy, prescription in hand, trying to find what they need. Medical Information Service, founded by Dr Dudzai Mureyi, set out to make that search easier using technology. A lot has changed since we last wrote about them, so let’s dive in.

For recap’s sake, Medical Information Service (MIS) is a Zimbabwean WhatsApp-based health platform founded by Dr Dudzai Mureyi. It helps people find medicine easily and compare costs across different pharmacies. That’s valuable if you ask me, especially in a country where advertising isn’t allowed in the pharmaceutical industry.

Although we only wrote about it in 2021, MIS actually started in 2015, so it has been running for a while now. In that time, it has been through some battles, as you’d expect for any business that has been around that long. What sets it apart from other startups, though, is that it has fought court cases against government bodies.

Entering a heavily regulated field with a new innovation almost guarantees legal problems. So, of course, the Health Professions Authority of Zimbabwe and the Pharmacists Council of Zimbabwe took MIS to court in 2017 and 2018. They argued that MIS had broken the rule that prevents pharmacies from advertising their medicine. Fortunately, MIS won. Twice. And it kept operating. It’s unusual, and quite impressive, for a small, newly launched startup to take on two government bodies and come out on top. Fast forward to today, and MIS is still running.

So what has changed since then? First things first, MIS has changed how people search for medicine on its platform. For most of its existence, the process was manual. A person would type in what they wanted, and the request would be sent to pharmacy staff, who would then reply with what they had in stock and at what price. As you can see, it was a bit of work.

In the first quarter of this year, MIS automated the process. It now has a WhatsApp bot, which you can find on its website. Everything is automated from start to finish: you answer a series of questions, and the results come back to you from its databases. The WhatsApp integration is a smart move, and I think more Zim startups should follow suit. Why? People of all ages and backgrounds are familiar with WhatsApp, and people who can’t afford WiFi can usually afford a WhatsApp bundle.

The service itself is simple to use. You send a WhatsApp message to the bot with the name of the medicine you need (or just a photo of your prescription) plus the area you’re in. MIS then checks with its network of pharmacies, which report back on what they have in stock and what it costs. You quickly get a list of pharmacies and prices. It costs nothing to use beyond your WhatsApp data, and it can even tell you which of those pharmacies accept your medical aid.

For all the talk about medicine, that isn’t all MIS offers. In fact, I was quite shocked at how many types of service providers it has under its belt. These include ambulances, police, dentists, lab tests and 24-hour emergency rooms. So it’s not just about medicine, it offers quite a lot.

While we’re on providers, the other thing that has changed is traction. Back in 2021, MIS had about 200 pharmacies. When we spoke to her, Dr Mureyi confirmed that it has grown to 416 providers in total (individual pharmacies plus other providers such as ambulances) across 32 provider types. On top of that, the bot has handled 1,566 queries since it launched in the first quarter of this year. So it’s safe to say MIS has grown.

As for the business model, Dr Mureyi wouldn’t disclose much. Since patients use it for free, the money probably comes from the providers. Either way, it’s safe to say money is coming in one way or another.

MIS fought legal battles and had to learn firsthand what it takes to run a business like theirs in a country like Zim. That work arguably opened the door for competitors like Cloomi, Kumbacare and MCAZ, who I’d like to think have had a much smoother ride. They run a similar model, and they use WhatsApp too. Imitation is flattery, I guess.

MCAZ is the bigger and more notable competitor. It’s the government body that decides which medicines are allowed in the country, and it has now adopted Dr Mureyi’s idea and built its own national medicine price platform. In a report, MCAZ even cited her legal victory as the reason it’s allowed to do so. Dr Mureyi, however, has no affiliation with the organisation.

With all that said, MIS has been at it for a long time, so there’s a good chance it will keep going. Whatever the future holds, it’s clear that MIS built something the market and the industry actually needed.

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