What Medical Access does

Medical Access (legally Medical Access Uganda Limited) is a Kampala-headquartered health supply chain management organization founded in 1998 during the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa under the UNAIDS Drug Access Initiative. Originally a two-person operation introducing antiretrovirals in Uganda, it has scaled to serve international funding agencies (The Global Fund, GAVI, USAID, FHI 360), national governments, and implementing partners across more than 35 low-and middle-income countries, with US$ 485M+ in cumulative commodities procured and a peak annual managed budget of US$ 94M. The company operates as part of the UHD group, with regional offices in Ireland, Kenya, Nigeria, UAE, the United States, and Zambia, alongside two pharmaceutical-grade logistics hubs in Kampala (Bunga and Namanve) totaling 4,500 m2 of customs-bonded storage and 300 m3 of cold-chain capacity.

The company's offering is organized into four pillars: Strategic Procurement, Technical Assistance & Logistics Consulting, Warehousing & Distribution, and the Supply Chain+ digital solutions suite. The technology stack combines proprietary systems (MePs e-procurement, SPARS+ mobile application, MaTHSS model, ePod electronic proof of delivery with GPS, Fleet Management, Cloud-based Temperature Monitoring, an e-Learning platform, and a Supply Chain Control Tower) with enterprise platforms such as SAP WIMS and GS1 serialization standards, providing end-to-end visibility from forecasting through last-mile distribution. Reported operational performance includes 5.2 million accident-free fleet kilometers, 100% OTIF delivery for ARV medicines, and US$ 87.7M in cumulative savings enabling treatment of more than one million additional adult patients. Certifications include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2017, ISO 45001:2018, and UNBS accreditation.

Medical Access generates revenue through three principal streams: Technical Assistance and Consulting Services (professional services), Strategic Procurement Services (transaction-based fees on health commodity procurement), and Warehousing and Distribution Services (managed services). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; contracts are negotiated bilaterally with donor-funded health programs, government ministries, and implementing partners. The company has a board of executive and non-executive directors, is led by Executive Director Sowedi Muyingo, and operates with 100+ dedicated supply chain management experts, with no public funding rounds or M&A activity recorded.

Name

Medical Access

Legal name

Medical Access Uganda Limited

Website

https://medical-access.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Medical Access provides end-to-end health supply chain management—procurement, warehousing, distribution, and digital solutions—to international funding agencies, governments, and implementing partners across 35+ low-and middle-income countries, operating as part of the UHD group from its Kampala headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Supply Chain Management

NAICS

Couriers and Express Delivery Services (492110), Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (493120), Warehousing and Storage (493), Local Messengers and Local Delivery (49221)

SIC

Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies (5047), Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries (5122), Public Warehousing & Storage (4220), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Supply Chain, Procurement & Access to Medicines (BPADAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare Providers & Hospitals (TLAIALAE), Medical Devices & Diagnostics (TLAIALAD), Medical Device & Surgical Kit Courier (Instruments, Implants) (TLAAAIAC)

Keywords

• Health supply chain management
• Pharmaceutical procurement services
• Cold chain logistics
• Warehouse management systems
• Health systems strengthening

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Technical Assistance & Consulting Services: Supply chain management consulting services provided to optimize systems for clients in low-and middle-income countries, typically funded by international donors.
2. Strategic Procurement Services: Value-driven procurement of health commodities through a trusted network of quality suppliers, managing procurement lifecycle from forecasting to delivery.
3. Warehousing & Distribution Services: Pharma-grade warehousing with real-time inventory management and cold-chain capabilities, combined with door-to-door distribution solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Medical Access provides end-to-end health supply chain management services in low-and middle-income countries, including strategic procurement of health commodities, pharmaceutical-grade warehousing with cold-chain capabilities, door-to-door distribution, and logistics technical assistance and consulting. The company combines these services with proprietary digital tools (MePs e-Procurement, SAP WIMS, ePod, SPARS+, Supply Chain Control Tower) to deliver real-time visibility from forecasting through last-mile delivery for international donors, governments, and Implementing Partners.

Product overview

Medical Access provides a comprehensive portfolio of health supply chain management solutions organized into four core service areas: Strategic Procurement (including the MePs e-procurement system), Logistics Technical Assistance & Consulting, Warehousing & Distribution (as part of the UHD group with pharmaceutical grade facilities), and Supply Chain+ Digital Solutions. The digital portfolio includes MePs for electronic procurement, SAP WIMS for warehouse inventory management, ePod for electronic proof of delivery, SPARS+ and MaTHSS for health system strengthening, a Fleet Management System, Supply Chain Control Tower with analytics, and an e-Learning Platform. These offerings work together to provide end-to-end supply chain visibility from procurement through last-mile distribution, with proprietary systems integrated with standards like GS1 for track-and-trace capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MePs: Medical Access e-Procurement System - automates critical tasks across the procurement lifecycle.
• ePod
• SPARS+
• MaTHSS

Products and services

• Technical Assistance & Logistics Consulting Supply chain transformation and health systems strengthening consulting services for governments, international funding agencies, and implementing partners in low-and middle-income countries. Covers procurement, logistics, vaccines and cold chain, laboratory systems, quality assurance, and audit/evaluation.
• Procurement Services Value-driven procurement of health commodities including forecasting and quantification, procurement policy development, supplier performance management, and supply market analysis through a trusted network of quality suppliers. Has supported US$485 million+ of commodity procurements across 35+ countries.
• Warehousing & Distribution Services Network of state-of-the-art pharmaceutical-grade warehouses with real-time inventory management and cold-chain capabilities, including customs clearance, international freight forwarding, inbound & outbound logistics, and door-to-door distribution solutions for health facilities. Operates as part of the UHD group.
• Medical Access e-Procurement System (MePs) Electronic procurement system that automates critical tasks across the procurement lifecycle, centralizing decentralized processes and enabling real-time visibility of procurement operations, with risk mitigation, contract development, and approval automation.
• Supply Chain+ Digital Solutions Comprehensive suite of digital tools for supply chain optimization including e-procurement, warehouse management, proof of delivery, barcode scanning, GS1 serialization, fleet management, temperature monitoring, health system strengthening tools, HR management, financial management, and analytics.
• SAP Warehouse Inventory Management System (WIMS) Real-time inventory management system that manages and controls daily warehouse operations from commodity intake to dispatch, providing visibility of inventory in warehouses and in transit for improved operational efficiency and faster order fulfillment.
• Electronic Proof of Delivery (ePod) Mobile real-time electronic proof-of-delivery notification system providing instant information on deliveries to health facilities with GPS location stamps and chain of custody documentation for commodities.
• Supervision Performance Assessment and Recognition Strategy Plus (SPARS+) Mobile application tool for health system strengthening that enables real-time data collection for site assessment, transforming paper-based SPARS tools into electronic data collection with geolocation stamps for visit verification.
• MaTHSS Model Innovative approach to improving site-level healthcare performance by identifying and supporting weaker performing health facilities using the SPARS+ tool for performance assessment.
• Fleet Management System Comprehensive fleet tracking system providing real-time insights into costs, performance, budgets, and vehicle KPIs for optimization of vehicle performance and reduction of operational costs across 5.2 million accident-free km.
• Supply Chain Control Tower Analytics and reporting center with integrated Crystal Reports gathering data from multiple sources, featuring in-memory computing for real-time access, predictive analysis through predefined dashboards, and track and trace capabilities.
• e-Learning Platform Open source, user-friendly custom learning platform for continuing professional development in supply chain topics, featuring interactive live sessions, webinars, gamification, multilingual support, social learning features, and integration capabilities.
• GS1 Serialization Technology Global standards-based unique identification of items, assets, logistic units, clients, and locations for enhanced track and trace capabilities across the supply chain.

Quantifiable outcome

• US$ 485 million+ worth of commodities procured across 35+ countries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• UHD (Universal Health Distribution)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with UHD for warehousing and distribution services. UHD Group provides access to state-of-the-art pharma-grade warehouses with real-time inventory management and cold-chain capabilities.
• PICMAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with PICMA for supply chain management support to clients around the world.
• FHI 360coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuality assurance collaboration for HIV commodity procurement. FHI 360 serves as the USAID QA contractor to assure quality of health commodities and ensure compliance with USAID policies and regulations.
• The Global FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership conducting supply chain audits and evaluations across 25 countries to ensure effective use of funds for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis programs.
• GAVIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for supply chain assessment mechanisms to monitor use of funds for immunization programs supported by GAVI.
• USAIDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for procurement and delivery of HIV commodities for Private Not-For-Profit sector in Uganda, with achievements including 100% OTIF delivery for ARV medicines.
• Uganda National Drug Authority (NDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegulatory partnership for drug quality assurance and coordination of drug registrations and renewals in Uganda.
• GS1supportingTechnology or IntegrationImplementation of GS1 technology for track and trace capabilities through serialization, providing globally standardized unique identification of items, assets, and locations.
• SAPsupportingTechnology or IntegrationUtilization of SAP software for warehouse inventory management (WIMS) and financial planning and analysis, accounting, and ERP integration.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Agility Logistics: Global logistics provider with dedicated life sciences and cold-chain capabilities, including operations in Africa. Broad incumbent offering comparable warehousing and distribution services for pharmaceutical and health-sector customers.
• Chemonics International: Large US-headquartered implementer of USAID-funded global health programs, including supply chain and pharmaceutical management components. Broader in scope than Medical Access but competes for overlapping donor-funded health supply chain mandates.
• DHL Supply Chain - Life Sciences: Global 3PL with dedicated Life Sciences and Healthcare division offering GDP-compliant warehousing, cold-chain, and last-mile distribution. Broad incumbent expanding African pharma-grade capacity, competing for multinational pharma and donor-funded health logistics contracts.
• Kuehne+Nagel (KN PharmaChain): Global freight forwarder and contract logistics provider with KN PharmaChain handling GDP-compliant pharma logistics, including Africa coverage. Broad incumbent that competes for large-scale donor and multinational pharma distribution contracts.

Direct peers

• Imperial Health Sciences: South African pharmaceutical-grade warehousing and distribution 3PL serving public health and donor programs across sub-Saharan Africa. Direct peer in the contract-logistics layer of African health supply chains, with comparable cold-chain capabilities.
• Management Sciences for Health (MSH): Global non-profit that strengthens health systems, including pharmaceutical supply chains and procurement capacity, for USAID, Global Fund, and country governments. Comparable in the health-systems-strengthening, supply-chain TA, and donor-funded program delivery model.
• i+solutions: Dutch non-profit that procures and supplies pharmaceuticals and medical commodities for global health programs funded by the Global Fund, USAID, and other donors. Closest direct peer in the LMIC health procurement and supply chain space, with a similar donor-funded operating model.
• Crown Agents: UK-headquartered international development company that implements donor-funded health procurement and supply chain programs, including for DFID/FCDO and the Global Fund. Comparable in delivering supply chain TA, procurement, and logistics services to government and donor clients in LMICs.

Others

• Africa Resource Centre (ARC): Not-for-profit supply chain advisory organization working with African governments and donors to strengthen public health supply chains. Thematically adjacent enabler that does not directly compete with Medical Access but operates in the same donor-funded supply chain ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Field Intelligence: Tech-enabled pharmaceutical supply chain company operating across Africa, with inventory financing, route optimization, and shelf-life monitoring for African pharmacies and public health programs. Emerging peer that intersects with Medical Access's pharmaceutical distribution and digital supply chain mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Medical Access