Kasha, an e-commerce platform with the first online pharmacy registered by Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority last year in October, has availed a number of pharmaceuticals that clients can shop online in Kigali city and Huye district.

Kasha is a social enterprise that started in 2016 striving to improve access to health, menstrual care and personal care products as well as information for women of various socioeconomic status in urban and rural areas via an agent network in Rwanda and Kenya.

The e-commerce platform is optimized for sexual and reproductive health products, hygiene and pharmaceutical products in a convenient and confidential way.

The platform has enabled primarily women but also men access a variety of health products with a guarantee of confidentiality, quality, affordability with a last mile delivery.

Julio Marius Musangwa, the pharmacist at KASHA Rwanda, explains that despite current delivery of online shopping of pharmaceuticals, health tips and online consultation in Kigali and Huye, it is expected to expand to other districts starting with Musanze and Rubavu districts.

"We want to avail medications including those for chronic diseases and other diseases but also inform people through Kasha about any health threatening issue, get information about how to take care of themselves,” he said.

He said that online shopping of pharmaceuticals is affordable, convenient with a wide range of products to choose from in total confidentiality.

The pharmaceuticals for especially women health include those used for home tests mainly pregnancy tests, HIV oral test, allergy test and ovulation tests.

The contraceptives are composed of birth control pills, emergency pills, intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs), injections, implants, condoms while intimate infections products include suppositories and creams that treat infections mainly affecting private parts of women.

"We have to play our part in reducing high rates of unwanted pregnancies, especially among young people and continue the prevention of HIV as well,” he said.

Pharmaceuticals for health conditions are pain reliever for body aches and other pain menstrual cramps, cough, cold and flu, digestive health, nausea and motion sickness, allergy medications, infections treatment, laxatives, asthma management as well as malaria prevention and treatment.

A rider making delivery. The company uses full-time staff riders to ensure ordered products get to their clients on time.

Others include those, supplements for female fertility, male fertility, pregnancy care and vitamin deficiency, medical care devices, lubricants and phone consultations where we connect customers with medical doctors

"We have full time staff riders that support us to make sure we deliver the ordered products. We have partnering pharmacies. When clients order via our platform, they choose if they want to get the products they want right away, later on today or want it the day after. We always give options to choose from. We also make sure that the product you ordered, you get it in total confidentiality,” he assured.

"There is a phone consultation whereby someone is in need of a prescription. On our platform, we also have prescription medications. There are those products they only get when they have a medical prescription.

We help our customers to get prescriptions whenever they are really in need of such products. We also help people by connecting them with appropriate partnering institutions to help them for any need, whenever they want to talk to doctors, need counselling. Kasha is also there deliver health products,” he said.

How other products are shopped

Apart from pharmaceuticals, Kasha has been delivering beauty and body products, menstrual care products, mom and baby products, brands and deals among others.

Via its innovative multi-channel platform, Kasha allows clients to place orders both online and offline, through its website, mobile app, SMS short code or phone call.

It aims to be a trusted source of information especially around stigmatized products and operates in close cooperation with selected health partners.

Clients can visit Kasha’s website (www.kasha.rw) or USSD code on *911# or call the toll free number 9111.

"Currently for any other products, anyone can order from anywhere in the country but pharmaceuticals online shopping is currently only availed in Kigali and Huye and by the end of April we shall be also in Musanze and Rubavu. We have to make sure products are available and we are considering affordability of our prices,” Musangwa said.

During Covid-19 pandemic other products were added to the list of services.

These include hand sanitizers, masks, supplements and vitamins and other products.