Chekkit, a Nigerian drug-related anti-counterfeiting startup, raises additional funding to expand its product tracking solution for Nigerian and African markets.
Chekkit, a Nigerian drug anti-counterfeiting startup, has secured funding from Adaverse, a Cardano ecosystem accelerator, to scale its blockchain-powered drug safety and tracking solution. Chekkit’s platform uses unique ID labels to track product movement and ensure authenticity, and has already secured over 50 million pharmaceutical and consumer goods products. With the support of the recent funding, Chekkit aims to onboard more manufacturers in Nigeria and other regions in Africa, expand to new markets, and optimize supply chains through partnerships with major stakeholders.
Funding from Adaverse to drive Chekkit’s expansion plans
Nigerian anti-counterfeiting startup Chekkit has announced that it has secured additional funding to support its plans for expansion. The company, which was formed at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in Accra, Ghana in 2018, has developed a blockchain-powered solution that tracks product movement and ensures authenticity in the supply chain. Chekkit’s CEO, Dare Odumade, explains that the platform uses tamper-proof unique ID labels, such as QR codes or numeric codes, which can be placed on premium packaged food and beverage products, allowing for supply chain and consumer feedback tracking.
Chekkit’s anti-counterfeiting solution gains traction in Nigeria
Chekkit has already made significant progress in the Nigerian market, securing partnerships and integrations with major players such as SAP and the GS1 global standards system. The startup has helped secure over 50 million pharmaceutical and consumer goods products, and is poised for further growth following the mandate by Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for pharmaceutical products to implement end-to-end serialization and traceability by the end of 2024.
To support its expansion plans, Chekkit has raised an undisclosed round of funding from Adaverse, a Cardano ecosystem accelerator, with participation from existing investors including RTA, HoaQ, Launch Africa Ventures, and Blockchain Founders Fund. This comes on the heels of Chekkit’s successful USD 500,000 pre-seed funding round in 2021 and its recent announcement as the first approved GS1/NAFDAC traceability solutions provider in Nigeria.
Chekkit aims to strengthen supply chains in low to middle-income countries
The funds will be used to onboard more manufacturers across Nigeria and other regions in Africa, as well as to expand into new markets such as India, UK, and the Middle East. Chekkit’s CEO, Dare Odumade, comments on the company’s plans, stating, “We are currently exploring opportunities to optimize and strengthen supply chains for other African and Middle Eastern regions through partnerships with major pharmaceutical donors, manufacturers, governments, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We are focusing a side of the business on fixing the public pharmaceutical supply chains of these low to middle-income earning countries.”
Vincent Li, founding partner at Adaverse, highlights the unique value proposition of Chekkit’s solution, stating, “Chekkit was not just another anti-counterfeiting solution. Rather, it aims to repair the prevailing rift in consumer-manufacturer trust with the blockchain-secured channel, prioritizing consumer insights. We see the potential to transform the supply chain industry and disrupt the DataFi market, and we’re excited to support the scaling of Chekkit’s infrastructure.”
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