Generico raises $1.39 mn venture debt from Alteria Capital

Generico, a retail pharmacy chain owned by Mumbai-based Workcell Solutions, has raised $1.39 million in a venture debt funding from Alteria Capital.

The transaction is part of Generico’s Series A round of funding, according to a statement released by Alteria Capital. 

Generico had received a venture capital cheque led by Lightbox in September 2019 for its Series A round. The company has raised $15.39 million in its Series A.

Founded by Siddharth Gadia and Girish Agarwal in 2017, Generico has so far raised an aggregate equity funding of $16 million. The startup currently has 49 outlets in Mumbai from where it sells generic and branded medicines. It plans to increase its footprint to 150 outlets by 2021.

Gadia and Agarwal had earlier launched a drug discovery and availability platform Reap before starting Generico.

Generico started operating on a company-owned, company-operated model and moved to a master franchise model in which Generico owns the brand and technology while the franchise owns the real estate and the front-end operations.

“Generico is on its way to build a strong network of omnichannel healthcare delivery with pharmacies as the starting point. Gadia and the team at Generico have been working hard in creating a brand which has the potential to become a surrogate for trust and efficient patient care which can then be extended to other adjacent opportunities as well," said Vinod Murali, managing partner at Alteria Capital. 

Alteria Capital was founded in 2017 by Murali and Ajay Hattangdi, who were former top executives at venture debt provider InnoVen Capital. The firm made the final close of its debut fund at $140 million (Rs 960 crore) in July last year.

Its other investments include internet kitchen platform Rebel Foods, digital lending startup Lendingkart, health tech company Portea and Mfine, edtech firm Toppr Technologies, Delhi-based student accommodation platform Stanza Living, scooter-sharing startup Vogo. 

Recent deals in health-tech space

• December 2019: Bengaluru-based Medlife International, which operates an online pharmacy, raised $15 million via non-convertible debentures from Mauritius-based Wilson Global Opportunities Fund.
• December 2019: Gurugram headquartered multispeciality clinic chain for elective surgeries, Pristyn Care, raised $12 million in a Series B round from Hummingbird Ventures, Greenoaks Capital, AngelList and returning investor Sequoia Capital India.