Medical supplies marketplace Medikabazaar appoints former Cox & Kings exec as tech chief

Medikabazaar, a business-to-business (B2B) online marketplace for medical supplies, has appointed former Cox & Kings executive Manoj Mani as the head of technology.

The appointment was in line with its expansion strategy where a significant focus will be on ramping up the technology infrastructure, an official statement said.

As part of his new responsibility, Mani will oversee the implementation of ramping up the company’s technology and automation platform, the statement added.

“Technology is at the crux of everything we do, from the user experience we provide to the last-mile delivery to the launch of our first proprietary AI and ML tool, the smart inventory - VIZI,” Vivek Tiwari, founder & CEO, Medikabazaar said.

Mani was the global head of information technology infrastructure at Cox & Kings. In earlier stints, he has worked at companies like BNP Paribas, Barclays Bank, Reuters and Accenture.

“I am looking forward to being part of a team that is using technology to make quality healthcare more accessible, especially to those who need it the most,” Mani said.

The development comes at a time when the company recently announced that it is looking to raise Rs 200 crore ($28.7 million then) from a group of venture capital investors.

It also announced that existing investors like the Delhi-based venture capital fund HealthQuad, Rebright Partners, Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance’s VC arm and Belgium-based Kois Invest will participate in the round.

The funds will be used for the expansion of the company’s fulfilment centres, strengthening technology infrastructure, making last-mile delivery more efficient and investing in logistics automation. A significant portion of the funds will go towards further penetrating tier-3 and tier-4 cities as well as potential acquisitions.

Medikabazaar was started in April 2015 by Vivek Tiwari and Ketan Malkan. It operates an online B2B e-commerce marketplace where customers can purchase medical devices and hospital supplies directly without intermediaries.

It last raised $5 million in its Series A round of funding in October 2018, led by healthcare-focussed venture capital firm Healthquad Advisors.