2014 was a big year for Miti Health with lots of highlights. Here are just a few:

• Our technology team used our early product prototypes to develop a fully functioning tablet application, distributed via the Google Play Store, providing chemists with the tools they need to manage their sales, inventory, and suppliers.
• We recruited and trained strong sales and customer service teams in both Kenya and Tanzania to test the Miti Platform and help grow our market and impact.
• We completed inventory stock takes and on-boarded our first set of ten chemists onto the platform.
• We built a database of over 1,500 unique medications that are commonly available and began working with a network of researchers who investigate counterfeit and poor-quality medication in the region.
• And we started bringing in sales revenues, a major milestone for us.

At the same time, 2014 was also a year of tremendous learning.

Based on the feedback we received from our customers, we were able to develop a business model that licenses the application at an affordable price, which should enable our business and the number of providers we serve to scale quickly.

We learned a lot about the ways we can strengthen our internal operations, including streamlining the initial inventory stock-take at each pharmacy – an essential step in transitioning chemists from pen and paper systems to the Miti application.

And thanks to our conversations with countless clients, partners, and suppliers, we deepened our understanding of East Africa’s pharmaceutical industry and private sector health marketplace. We saw first-hand how providers often struggle with fragmented and opaque supply chains and how the lack of business management tools can lead to sales of counterfeit and substandard drugs.

So what’s next and where do we go from here?

In 2015, we’ll be focused on quickly scaling our operations in Kenya, starting with Nairobi and western Kenya, with the goal of signing up 200 chemists by the end of the year. We’ll be undertaking more rigorous impact studies to assess drug quality in Kenya and the impact of Miti’s application on improving the quality of medication provided to patients. And last but certainly not least, we’ll be working to finalize strategic partnerships with high-quality suppliers, healthcare associations, local banks, larger funders, and others to accelerate our growth as an organization.

We can’t wait to keep pushing ahead, working hard, and making sure we laugh a bit too. We look forward to working with you all in the coming year!