Contributors: Meghna Dasgupta, WG’23, Jasmine Zhang, WG’23, and Ava Chang, WG'23
To learn more about Meghna, Jasmine, Ava, and the WGHV Team, click here.
Earlier this year, a team of Wharton students, including Meghna Dasgupta (WG’23), Shubha Jain (WG’23), Moshe Lavi (WG’23), Dolapo Salawu (WG’23), Deva Saxena (WG’23), and Jasmine Zhang (WG’23) had the opportunity to be involved in a pro bono consulting project at the intersection of women’s health and technology. The WGHV team partnered with Kasha Inc., an e-commerce platform focusing on women’s health care products and pharmaceuticals, to build out a geographical expansion strategy.
Kasha was founded in Rwanda in 2016 and expanded into Kenya in 2019. Since then, Kasha has delivered over 1 million products to over 130,000 customers, the majority of whom are women in low-income households. Kasha’s multi-channel sales platforms (including sales through their website, mobile app, text message, or a dedicated hotline) and delivery network allow these women to purchase necessary health and personal care products, such as contraceptives and sanitary pads, at affordable prices and in a discreet manner, in order to avoid social stigma around contraceptive use and keep girls in school. Currently, about two thirds of women and girls are unable to afford sanitary pads in Kenya, while in Rwanda about a fifth of women and girls miss out on work and school because they cannot afford sanitary pads.
With the success they experienced in Rwanda and Kenya, Kasha was looking to tap into other markets in the region and continue to expand their footprint and reach. Kasha engaged the WGHV team to help determine with whom and how to design a win-win partnership for the expansion. The team sought to answer these questions through interviews with internal Kasha stakeholders and external industry experts, as well as secondary research and case studies of other companies with e-commerce platforms. The team also had the opportunity to travel to Kenya to meet with the Kasha team, build deeper relationships, perform site visits to warehouses to gain a better understanding of current operations and challenges/opportunities, and work closely with the Kasha team to refine our recommendations.
In the final deliverable, we presented an overview of the pharmaceutical and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry landscape in the target country, including the value chain, key players, pain points of upstream and downstream suppliers and customers, existing business models, and industry trends and outlook. The industry landscape assessment then informed our recommendations on areas of opportunities for Kasha to create impact across the value chain. We identified potential partners for Kasha, along with evaluation considerations (e.g., partner’s product/service offering, brand, reach, breadth of warehouse/distribution network), potential political, regulatory, and economic headwinds and tailwinds for the expansion, and actionable next steps for Kasha to drive the effort forward.
The Kasha team was complimentary of the WGHV team’s work and recommendations and expressed eagerness in having the WGHV team on board to evaluate additional countries they are considering for expansion. For the WGHV team, we gained both industry and functional expertise through this project, learning a ton about the digital pharmacy industry in West Africa, and gaining real-life consulting experience.
WGHV is grateful for the generous, ongoing support of the Wharton Healthcare Alumni Association that allows our teams to continue to make an impact on the global stage supporting international health organizations and contribute to improving access and outcomes for underserved populations around the world. We are always looking for interesting and impactful organizations to partner with in the semesters ahead. If you have any leads for potential projects, please reach out to the WGHV Executive Board.
Contact Jasmine Zhang at: [email protected]
Contact Meghna Dasgupta at: [email protected]
Contact Ava Chang at: [email protected]
