- Singapore-headquartered Arcadier to build and operate innovative online marketplace for the United Nations Office for Project Services' (UNOPS) Defeat-NCD Partnership; launch by end Q1 2019
- Online marketplace will ensure accessibility and affordability of medicines, diagnostics and equipment, with better supply chain processes and transparency
- Adds marketplace operational capabilities and builds on Arcadier's experience in creating 7,000 marketplaces in more than 130 countries since 2013
SINGAPORE and LAS VEGAS /PRNewswire/ -- Arcadier, a Singapore-headquartered online marketplace builder, has been chosen by the United Nations Office for Project Services' (UNOPS) Defeat-NCD (Non-Communicable Disease) Partnership as the partner for their Defeat-NCD Marketplace.
The online marketplace aims to enable the cost-effective and efficient provision of essential NCD supplies to national NCD programmes in low-resource countries. It will support the Defeat-NCD Partnership, a Private-Public-People Partnership aimed at tackling the most significant problem of the age: non-communicable diseases. NCDs claim more than 41 million lives each year, equivalent to 71% of all deaths globally[1].
Set to launch by end Q1 2019, the Defeat-NCD Marketplace will be made available to pre-approved buyers, including government agencies and non-governmental groups, who will be able to source for NCD supplies, including medicines, diagnostics and equipment, from manufacturers. Having these supplies in a global, private marketplace will allow multiple countries to pool their buying power; resulting in lower prices from greater efficiencies in planning, manufacturing and supply chain.
Arcadier aims to deploy the marketplace in 100 resource-poor countries over the next three to five years. At launch, a pilot list of six countries representing Southeast Asia, Africa, Central Europe and the Americas, will be able to purchase pre-approved supplies and undergo training from Arcadier on the use of the system.
Dinuke Ranasinghe, Chief Executive Officer of Arcadier, said, "We are honoured that UNOPS has chosen us as the partner for this innovative project for social good. An online marketplace can improve trust and connectivity, thereby increasing transparency and access to important and life-saving supplies. We believe that our deep expertise helping businesses build marketplaces can help effect serious change and impact people and communities."
Arcadier's role will include providing training and support to buyers across the world in the use of the marketplace, as well as engagement on aspects such as financing solutions, logistics, drug testing and warehousing, to create benefits of scale for users. To that end, Arcadier will be looking to increase their global staff size by at least 100 in 2019, from 45 currently, including operational expertise in logistics and warehousing, customer service, training and development. They will also be looking to open new offices in Europe focused on managing the project directly with the UN, and in East Africa to aid in the operational aspects of the project, on top of their current offices in Singapore, United States, Australia and the Philippines.
The Defeat-NCD Marketplace will be based on Arcadier's technology platform, which has been in development since 2013 and used to create more than 7,000 marketplaces in over 130 countries. The platform has been used by entrepreneurs to build marketplaces through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, and for corporates through an enterprise platform model.
Dr Mukesh Kapila, Chief Executive of the Defeat-NCD Partnership, said: "The world is moving towards digitalization and the UN is constantly seeking new technology to solve major world issues. We are excited to partner with Arcadier to create the Defeat-NCD Marketplace, which will reduce barriers and costs in the distribution of quality-assured NCD medicines, diagnostics and associated equipment to where they are needed most, speedily and reliably."
"This partnership is the next stage of our evolution of our business. This adds a powerful operational capability to our team and effectively moves us from a marketplace provider to a technology company that manages and operates global, online marketplaces, with potentially thousands of SKUs from hundreds of sellers that will impact the lives of millions of people around the world. We're confident that the experience we have working on commercial marketplaces around the world will lead us to success in this project," Mr Ranasinghe added.
This latest partnership marks a growing trend of Arcadier's partnerships with governmental organizations in their digitalization strategies. Earlier in the year, Arcadier also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Cross River State Government of Nigeria, which would see the state utilize Arcadier's marketplace technology to enable its farmers to sell cocoa products directly and efficiently to the rest of the world.
Media Contact
Kenneth Low
Public Relations for Arcadier
press@arcadier.com, www.arcadier.com
SOURCE Arcadier
