XRP Healthcare officially acquires Pharma Ville
The decision about Pharma Ville was a no-brainer; it is ready to scale.............
Kain Roomes CEO XRP Healthcare during an interview with Vision Group journalists at Kololo on April 8, 2025. (Credit: Nancy Nanyonga)
Simon Okitela
Journalist @New Vision
Laban Roomes CO-Founder XRP Healthcare during an interview with Vision Group journalists at Kololo on April 8, 2025. (Credit: Nancy Nanyonga)
A few weeks after acquiring Ugandan pharmacy chain Pharma Ville, XRP Healthcare, a pioneering force in healthcare innovation, announced it will be a public company by the third quarter of 2025.
Simon Okitela spoke to Kain Roomes and Laban Roomes, the company’s CEO and COO, respectively, on what the acquisition of Pharma Ville Pharmacy Chain means and their plans to make healthcare more accessible for Ugandans.
Briefly, who are you and introduce XRP Healthcare?
My name is Kain Roomes, and I am the chief executive officer of XRP Healthcare. AI and XRP Healthcare's mergers and acquisitions company started off as a blockchain company, and we have now transitioned into the AI and mergers and acquisitions space.
We had the opportunity to come to Africa through one of our advisers, and it was because of the immense potential. Uganda’s population is highly fragmented, and there is an absolute need for development and improvement of infrastructure and upgrade of health equipment. The technology is insufficient, and XRP Healthcare has the technology to improve.
We have the technology to save lives here in Uganda, and out of the 46 million Ugandan population, there are 57% that use private health care facilities,s and it is this number we are targeting.
Why did XRP Healthcare choose to invest in Uganda?
We chose Uganda because of the vibrant private healthcare sector with over 6,000 facilities that need to be improved to offer quality healthcare. XHP has the most talented developers, and with our AI technology, we can save lives in Uganda.
Imagine someone speaking their local language, like Lugand, and then getting a doctor’s response on what they should do to treat a particular disease. There is a lot of untapped potential and this explains our decision to invest here.
What made Pharma Ville the right company for your first acquisition?
The decision about Pharma Ville was a no-brainer; it is ready to scale. They are fully registered with all the right licenses, and they have partnered with the government with about 60 registered products with 70 more in the pipeline. Pharma Ville boasts of a pharmacy chain consisting of five wholesale outlets and two retail outlets.
Why is going public such an important step for XRP Healthcare?
It will enable us to generate huge amounts of funds, and this basically gives everyone confidence that we are transparent as a company.
It will allow us to partner with the best in the world, and once we have these huge sums of money, we can spend it in Uganda to improve healthcare access.
Maybe just £6 on then how that will support your business strategy and growth along the chain. Okay, so the IPO basically encourages others to invest in a company which increases the capital.
How will the IPO help grow your business in Uganda and other parts of Africa?
The initial public offering (IPO) gives us access to a huge amount of funds that we can use to acquire pharmacies, invest to improve products and improve the infrastructure, this makes everybody trust the company.
What is the XRPH AI App, and how will it help people in Uganda?
So XPH AI, in simple terms, is basically a 24/7 healthcare assistant. It is like a doctor in your pocket. You can take out your phone, Android or iPhone. The XPH AI is on the iOS and Android stores, Apple store or Google Play.
And you download it, you don't even have to sign up, then speak to a doctor in Luganda or Swahili and instantly get health advice, and health insights among others. XPH AI is pivotal, it is imperative for Ugandans and the African economies to embrace it.
XRP Healthcare is strategically positioning itself to leverage the rapid expansion of AI in healthcare. By focusing on advanced AI solutions, we are leading the way toward a smarter, more accessible future in healthcare, with XRP Healthcare at the forefront.
What are your first steps now that Pharma Ville is part of XRP Healthcare?
My name is Laban Roomes, the Chief Operating Officer of XRP Health Care. Our next move is to set up systems and streamline the business operations. Our business is incorporated in Dubai, and we now want to see how to scale in Uganda.
We have licenses for different drugs and medicines which should be exclusive to us, and we're really looking to put that injection of cash into it over the next few months to make sure that it becomes a world leader.
What excites you most about working in Uganda’s healthcare sector?
It's fragmented, we can see great opportunity everywhere and once organized, the untapped potential will be unlocked further. Ugandan people are educated and speak better English than people from several African countries, which is a good divide to penetrate.
How is XRP Healthcare making it easier for people to access medicine and healthcare services?
We are ensuring that there is investment in stock, mostly of generic medicines, making sure that Ugandans don't pay over and beyond the normal market price. The pharmaceutical industry is very costly, which is why some people call it organized crime in certain countries.
What are your plans to grow XRP Healthcare’s footprint across Uganda?
We hope to expand to neighbouring countries like Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. But there's a lot of work to do here in Uganda first. We also hope to reach out to corporate companies with insurance policies in future to see how we can work together.