CFWShops - Teaching Note

CFWshops is a network of pharmacy franchises in Kenya, managed by the Sustainable Healthcare Foundation (SHF). SHF's parent company is the HealthStore Foundation, based in Minnesota, in the U.S. The HealthStore Foundation (HS), formerly Sustainable Healthcare Enterprise Foundation, is a nonprofit founded in 1997 by Scott Hillstrom to "prevent needless death and illness by sustainably improving access to essential medicines." Based on the basic concept of franchising, the for-profit outlets are run by nurses, who provide basic medication and basic care services, in addition to basic hygiene products. While growth has been somewhat stagnant in Kenya, expansion into Rwanda has been successful. A series of interesting challenges, however, need to be addressed: supply chain, information systems, financial sustainability and growth.