Published on NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise (http://www.nextbillion.net)

Mi Farmacita Nacional: Enabling Good Health Among Mexico's BOP

By Julia Tran
Created Jul 11 2007 - 16:47
Date of talk or publication:
June 2007
Organization:
World Resources Institute
Description:
Mi Farmacita Nacional is a fully for-profit, Mexican owned pharmacy franchise with a social imperative. The company’s mission statement is "to bring medicines and special services to the regions of most necessity in the Mexican Republic and to provide health, well-being, communication and accessible prices to the majority of homes."

In Mexico, low-income communities often have no convenient access to quality, affordable medicines for such common afflictions as the flu, allergies, and arthritis, due to Mexico's loose pharmaceutical regulations and poor distribution channels for generic medicines. The low-income may also face long wait times of several weeks or longer for doctor visits due to Mexico’s overburdened healthcare system.

Mi Farmacita was established in Tijuana, Mexico, in 2003, and employs a classic franchise business structure. As of March 2007, Mi Farmacita had established 57 franchises in over 15 states in both smaller and major cities--including Morelia, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and Tijuana--and in squarely low-income as well as middle class communities.

Profits and sales volume, indirect measures of Mi Farmacita’s impact on incomes and the consumption of health goods and services, suggest that Mi Farmacita provides considerable value to its franchisees and customers. The 16 franchises that have been in operation for at least 22 months process about 90 sales transactions daily, or 2,400 monthly, and sales across the franchise’s 57 outlets totaled more than US$2.9 million in 2006.

Read an analysis of the business strategies that have enabled Mi Farmacita's growth by downloading the full-length business case study, What Works: Mi Farmacita Nacional, found below.

AttachmentSize
What Works--Mi Farmacita Nacional.pdf [1]1.21 MB

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