Building Kuwait’s smart pharmacy marketplace with Afya.
A complete multi-vendor pharmacy platform connecting customers, pharmacies and administrators through one ecosystem — location-based ordering, automated payments and vendor operations, delivered as an MVP in six months.
One marketplace for customers, pharmacies and administrators
Afya is a multi-vendor pharmacy marketplace built for the Kuwait healthcare sector. Customers order medicines and medical devices from nearby pharmacies through a single mobile app, while pharmacy owners manage products, pricing, inventory and orders from their own portal.
The platform also includes a public website and a powerful admin system. Payment, commission and vendor onboarding are highly automated to reduce manual work, and the project continues to evolve with new business requirements.
Wafi Solutions designed and developed the full ecosystem for the Kuwait-based client — location-based ordering, automated payments and vendor operations in one platform. The initial MVP was delivered over six months and continues to grow with new features.
Independent pharmacies keep full control of their own products and operations, while customers experience the marketplace as one connected healthcare service.
What was breaking before this build
Business challenges
- Serving multiple pharmacies in one platformThe client wanted one marketplace where independent pharmacies could sell while keeping full control of their own products and operations.
- Finding the right pharmacyCustomers needed to see pharmacies near their location instead of browsing stores that could not deliver to them.
- Complex payment operationsThe business required support for local payment methods, Buy Now Pay Later services, and automated payment distribution.
- Flexible revenue modelDifferent pharmacies and product categories required different commission rates without manual calculations.
- Reducing operational workVendor registration, payment tracking and business operations needed to be automated as much as possible.
- Simple customer experienceThe client wanted a fast checkout process with OTP login and a shopping cart that remains available even before sign in.
Technical challenges
- Location based marketplaceThe system had to identify nearby pharmacies and show products based on customer location and delivery radius.
- Dynamic commission engineThe platform calculates commissions using configurable business rules across vendors and product categories.
- Split payment logicPayment amounts needed to be distributed correctly between the payment gateway, platform and pharmacy.
- Real time checkout validationStock availability, pricing and delivery eligibility are verified before payment is accepted.
- Large scale vendor managementEach pharmacy required its own secure dashboard while administrators maintained complete platform visibility.
- Multiple payment integrationsThe platform integrates KNET, Apple Pay, MyFatoorah, Tabby, Tamara and Deemah into a unified checkout flow.
How we solved it
Complete marketplace platform
We built the public website, customer mobile app, pharmacy portal and admin portal from the ground up.
Location aware shopping
Customers automatically discover nearby pharmacies and compare products available within their delivery area.
Automated payment workflows
Payment confirmation, order updates, invoices and settlement calculations are handled through integrated workflows.
Flexible business rules
The platform supports pharmacy specific commissions, category based pricing rules and configurable business logic.
Secure customer journey
OTP authentication, persistent shopping carts and checkout validation improve both usability and reliability.
Scalable architecture
The solution was designed to support additional pharmacies, new payment methods and future business expansion.
What the team uses every day
Nearby pharmacy discovery
Customers see only the pharmacies that can actually deliver to their location, with products filtered by delivery radius.
Customer mobile app
Medicines and medical devices from every nearby pharmacy, ordered from one app with a familiar shopping flow.
OTP login & persistent cart
Customers build a cart before sign in, then verify with a one-time code at checkout instead of a password.
Unified checkout
KNET, Apple Pay, MyFatoorah, Tabby, Tamara and Deemah all resolve through one payment flow.
Dynamic commission engine
Configurable rules set commission per pharmacy and per product category, calculated without manual work.
Split payment distribution
Each transaction is divided correctly between the payment gateway, the platform and the selling pharmacy.
Pharmacy portal
Vendors manage their own products, pricing, inventory and orders from a secure dashboard scoped to their store.
Admin control system
Administrators keep complete visibility across vendors, orders, payments and platform-wide business rules.
Automated settlements
Payment confirmation, order updates, invoices and settlement calculations run through integrated workflows.
The guarantees this was built on
- Location resolutionPharmacies and their catalogs are matched to the customer’s position and each store’s delivery radius before anything is shown.
- Rule-driven commissionsCommission rates resolve from configurable rules across vendors and product categories rather than fixed values.
- Deterministic split paymentsEvery amount is distributed between gateway, platform and pharmacy by the same calculation path.
- Pre-payment validationStock availability, pricing and delivery eligibility are verified in real time before payment is accepted.
- Vendor-scoped accessEach pharmacy operates inside its own secure dashboard while administrators retain full platform visibility.
- Extensible integrationsNew pharmacies, payment methods and business rules can be added without reworking the core platform.
Integrations & channels
The outcome
Customers, pharmacies and administrators now operate through a single digital ecosystem
Automation reduces manual work across vendor onboarding, payments and order management
Users can quickly find nearby pharmacies, compare options and complete purchases with familiar payment methods
The client can onboard new pharmacy partners without changing the core platform
Automated commission and settlement logic improves payment accuracy and reduces operational risk
The platform continues to evolve with new features while supporting the client’s growing business
