A new platform digitizes Cambodia’s local pharmacies

This article is a part of Startup Spotlight, a series that features young, up-and-coming startups.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

During the pandemic, a founder spent eight hours visiting 30 pharmacies in a desperate search for two vials of medicine for his family.

The experience exposed a systemic failure in healthcare access. He later founded PharmKulen to build a system where medicine availability is visible in real time.

😟 Problem

Pharmacies are a primary point of care in Cambodia, with the share of people seeking initial treatment from them rising from 19% to 40%. Delays in finding medicine can directly impact health outcomes.

Most of the country’s around 3,800 pharmacies still manage inventory with manual or basic tools. This leads to frequent stockouts, expired medicines, and lost sales for small business owners.

💡 Solution

PharmKulen digitizes pharmacy inventory and makes it searchable for consumers. For patients, the app shows which nearby pharmacies have a specific medicine in stock, along with pricing and location.

For pharmacies, the startup provides a simple inventory management system. It allows them to:

• Track stock levels in real time
• Receive low-stock and expiry alerts
• Update medicine availability automatically as sales happen

Image credit: PharmKulen

📊 Market size

Cambodia’s pharmacy market is estimated to be over US$300 million annually. The opportunity is driven by the country’s more than 3,800 pharmacies, most of which are small, independent businesses that currently operate offline.

🤝 Team

• Khidayotullo. Co-founder. He leads product vision and execution. He is a software developer and game creator who has experience in blockchain development and building digital products.
• San Nimith. Co-founder. He leads technical development. He is a software engineer with experience in machine learning and AI.

🚀 Traction

• Launched four months ago.
• Onboarded 18 pharmacies to its platform.

🏆 Competition

💰 Financials

🚩 Risks