Bussy Bambo Meets She Leads Africa Finalists!

Meet the 10 African entrepreneurs who will lead Africa’s economy in the future.

These 10 talented young entrepreneurs were chosen from a list of 380 applicants from 27 countries for the She Leads Africa business pitch competition.

The event which will feature investors from leading venture capital firms and the media on September 19 and 20th in Lagos will see them compete for more than $30,000 in cash and prizes.

Non-financial prizes such as phones and tablets, brand consultation, free office space, access to prominent venture capitalists and angel investors, as well as additional tools needed in order to expand their existing start-ups and achieve their business dreams will also be available for winners.

Winnifred Selby (Afrocentric Bamboo Limited)

A finalist of the Cartier Women’s Award,Winnifred Selby is a 19 year old Set Africa Fellow and Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum. She is a graduate of the Joy Standard College and outstanding leader and serial social entrepreneur who has created a team of dedicated young social entrepreneurs who work together to overcome daily challenges by creating new commodities and markets for young people.Winnifred serves as the CEO of Afrocentric Bamboo Limited a Ghana based company that takes advantage of the abundant bamboo found in Ghana to add value to it to address the transportation needs of rural dwellers and producing bamboo bike frames for the international export markets whiles training women entrepreneurs to use bamboo waste to manufacture charcoal briquettes.

Why did you apply for SheLeadAfrica?

To obtain visibility and the needed investment for the scaling up of my business.

What do you hope to take away from this exercise?

I hope to build my capacity and improve upon my business presentation skills, network with female entrepreneurs and investors from other parts of the continent and the diaspora and take advantage of the tailored business training and other mentoring and consultancy opportunities offered by She Leads to take my business to the next level.
 

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Banke Kuku (Founder, Banke Kuku Textiles)

“I have been fascinated with textiles as far back as I can remember. I was knitting at age five, I would always pick the floral dresses and draw patterns on everything with a felt tip pen! So going into the textile industry was a very natural and easy decision for me.”

Banke Kuku Textiles fuses traditional African and Western culture to create, intricate, unique and luxurious fabrics for the interior and fashion industries.
I applied to She Leads Africa for the opportunity to meet likeminded entrepreneurs and the expert panel to further develop my business. I heard about the competition on Facebook.”

What do you hope to take away from this opportunity?: A better understanding of my business model and expert advice from the mentors.

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Oyindamola Honey Ogundeyi (Founder, Fashpa.com)

“I am the CEO and Founder of Fashpa.com. I have over 10 years experience in Technology & Consulting, with experience from Global Companies such as McKinsey & Co, Ericsson and Google.

Fashpa.com is filling the online- fashion gap that exists in Nigeria by redefining how fashion is accessed. We provide affordable high-street fashion that is not readily available to offline shoppers.
We sell fashion from local, international brands as well as our own private label and deliver Nationwide in Nigeria.”

Why did you apply for SheLeadAfrica?: It’s hard enough being an entrepreneur in Africa and even be more difficult as a women entrepreneur. I liked the focus that She Leads Africa has on high growth businesses led by female entrepreneurs in Africa. We have a very ambitious growth plan for Fashpa.com and it is a great opportunity to get access to a great network of peer entrepreneurs, investors as well as increase awareness of our brand Fashpa.

What do you hope to take away from this opportunity?: I look forward to taking advice, learning and feedback on how to build a successful business in Africa from a great selection of Investors, Mentors and Business owners as well as access to a network of female entrepreneurs leading the way in Africa.

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Elizabeth Kperrun (Founder, Lizzie creations): “I am an entrepreneur passionate about creating a better life for underprivileged women and children. And that is essentially what Lizzie's Creations is about. We set out to create mobile applications targeted towards the education and enlightenment of women and children. And so far, we have developed the award winning app "AfroTalez"; a story telling app for kids and we are currently working on the pilot episode of an interactive novel titled "Choices"”

Why did you apply for the competition?:I applied for She Leads Africa because being passionate about a cause isn’t enough. We need investors to help us not only with finance but also marketing and outreach. We also would love to benefit from the knowledge seasoned entrepreneurs will be bringing to the grand finale of the contest and the opportunity to meet other women in tech: to network, encourage and inspire one another.

What do you hope to gain from this opportunity?: I hope to take away a wealth of knowledge about entrepreneurship and the growth of technology in Africa and the role women in general and I in particular have to play in this field.

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Nour Drissi (Founder, Loue1voiture.com)

“Graduated from a French business school, I have 4 years work experience in management and marketing (especially in the car hire sector).  I am launching Loue1voiture.com: The first car hire booking platform to book a car from local & international car hire companies in Morocco. Last May, this project won the first prize of MIT pan arab startup competition.”

Why did you apply for SheLeadAfrica?: It's a great opportunity to meet mentors and investors, share my experience with other entrepreneurs and get media exposure.

What do you hope to take away from this exercise?: Feedback and advice on my business and extend my network.

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Anike Lawal (Founder, Mamalette.com)

As a mother of one boisterous toddler and also an expecting mum, Anike Lawal decided to start Mamalette.com when she was unable to find answers to her most pressing pregnancy and parenting questions.

From pre-pregnancy to parenthood, Mamalette.com is the place for mothers and mothers-to-be to learn, chat, seek advice, solve problems, share experiences and relax through our website and social networking platforms, she says.

Anike has a degree in Business Studies and French from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland and an MSc in Law and Accounting from the London School of Economics in England. She worked for a couple of years as a Management Consultant at KPMG Nigeria.

Why did you apply for SheLeadAfrica?: Women entrepreneurs like myself often find it difficult to raise capital or obtain a bank loan because investors and bankers would rather risk their venture capital with male entrepreneurs than females.

Women’s experiences, opinions and thoughts are hugely under-represented and not always taken seriously. She Leads Africa gives aspiring women entrepreneurs like myself the opportunity to scale these barriers.

What do you hope to gain at the long run?: What I hope to take away from this experience is the knowledge and belief that I can achieve the business goals I have set for myself. The skills taught and support given by She Leads Africa should help me properly structure and scale my business.

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Taffi Woolward (Founder, Thando's)

My name is Taffi Woolward and I'm the Co-Founder and CEO of Thando's. I'm a Guyanese-American living in Lagos, Nigeria for the past year. My fiancee, Jibolu "JG" Ayodele, and I started Thando's in 2012 while we were MBA students at New York University. As an entrepreneur I'm constantly on the go. My hectic schedule and high heels often meant very sore soles. JG is a practical art-enthusiast with an equally keen finance acumen and eye for fashionable footwear. Our love for each other, love for Africa and love for art, inspired us to create an innovative footwear line that facilitates a modern woman’s busy lifestyle. Thando’s shoes are African designed foldable ballerina flats, giving women a compact and comfortable shoe option that they can easily take with them on the go.

Why did you apply for SheLeadAfrica?: I applied for the She Leads Africa competition because I saw it as a unique opportunity to refine my business plan and garner exposure for the Thando's brand. This was the 1st pitch competition that I came across with a focus on women and Africa so I'm excited to meet other female entrepreneurs and investors with a similar passion for business in Africa.

What do you hope to take away from this exercise?: I'm an overachiever so I hope to take away the 1st place cash prize. More importantly than winning is the feedback and mentorship we are receiving through the process of refining our pitches and preparing for the competition. I look forward to forming relationships with the judges, panelists and other finalists. A strong network is extremely invaluable to an entrepreneur.

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Kega-Florence Mukwevho (Founder, MKP Fast foods (Pty) Ltd)

“I am a 21 year old, aspiring CA(SA) and final year B Com Accounting student from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. I am passionate about Education, Youth empowerment and Entrepreneurship (EYE). As an Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Candidate Fellow, I strive to embody the values of high-impact responsible leadership and entrepreneurship. My company focuses on solving two problems mainly the chronic youth unemployment situation in SA and expensive franchising in the chicken fast food industry.”

MKP Fast Foods is a low cost, scalable, mobile kitchen that supports the growth of a chicken brand, Galito's. Our mobile kitchen has employed 6 full-time employees. It is fully equipped with all that a normal restaurant would have, but on a smaller scale. It is placed in areas where it is not feasible to operate a full store.

Why did you apply for SheLeadAfrica?: Initially, I was just looking for a pitch contest in order to improve my Pitching skills. I believed that it would be useful for me to enter Pitch events as the exposure is phenomenal.

I had just returned from my first ever pitch contest in Cape Town, South Africa for the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation National Jamboree. After making it to the Top 10 there and not actually winning I was so motivated to seek out other opportunities that will give me greater exposure. At that contest, only 3 out of the 10 of us were female. I knew right there and then that I needed to rise up as a woman and empower myself in anyway that I possibly could. This would put me in a position where I can motivate and empower other women to take the stand, gain the confidence to make a move and bridge the gender gap in this entrepreneurship arena. I needed to see more woman stepping up in my community and changing the status quo but it had to begin with me.

I specifically googled 'Pitch Competitions' the Monday morning after returning from the Allan Gray event and after 4 or 5 pages, I found the She Leads Africa website.

Funding is always a challenge with any business and like any business, we also do require money in order to expand and continue with our operations. But I knew that I did not just want to enter a competition and win cash. I needed to be empowered as a woman to go out, seek funding and make things happen.

What do you hope to take away from this exercise?: I had initially thought She Leads Africa was just another Pitch contest. However, during this entire experience I have become attuned with the vision of She Leads Africa which goes far beyond the monetary funding possibilities.

I am looking to leave more empowered as a female entrepreneur, with not only business skills but personal growth so that I can be able to make a more meaningful impact and motivate more women back in SA and Africa to rise up and take that first step to making their dreams a reality. I believe that I will be inspired to be more confident and courageous as a young entrepreneur by interacting with like-minded women from across Africa. Being associated with some of the best woman entrepreneurs has been humbling.

I am incredibly excited about the networking opportunities. This experience will see me expand my network with potential business partners, highly influential individuals from across Africa and the SLA team who have been amazing thus far. I know that even without the prize money, this entire experience will empower me with skills and knowledge to be able to attain funding and any other resources that I need to be a successful female entrepreneur in Africa regardless of where I decide to venture off to.

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Cherae Robinson (Founder, Rare Customs)

Originally from Brentwood, NY, I have built a career raising visibility and support for international nonprofit organizations. A self-described “passport stamp collector” I have traveled to nearly 30 countries, 10 of them in Africa. I have had the pleasure of meeting dynamic people who turn the world's perception of Africa on its head. The experiences I've had in the places I've visited were unlike anything I could have imagined. I decided to create Rare Customs to bring the world to "aspirational Africa" and be a game-changer in a tourism industry that too often gives the continent the short end of the stick. Rare Customs is focused on disrupting the entire tourism value chain on the continent by providing services that make the sector modern and sustainable. Our first product, Tastemakers Africa is a mobile app and website that allows users to pre-purchase curated experiences in Africa a la carte. We speak directly to travelers who want to travel Africa and skip the mediocre. From boutique hotels, to exclusive restaurants, to nightclubs and unlisted excursions, Tastemakers Africa helps trips go from zero to epic. Unlike other travel apps, Tastemakers Africa is the only global solution that caters to modern jetsetters.

Why did you apply for SheLeadAfrica?: I entered this competition because it was African-sponsored, focused on women, and open to the diaspora. I also appreciated the "young professional mentor" component. With my product in particular, it is important to get validation from both seasoned investors and entrepreneurs but from people who would actually use the product.

How did you hear about it?: I first learned about the competition through the Diaspora African Women’s Network (DAWN) who has a listserve for members that keeps us informed of opportunities in African Affairs. I bookmarked the site and the very next day received a few tweets and emails from other friends like Kwame Son-Pimpong of Afara Global encouraging me to apply.

What do you hope to take away from this experience?: The Rare Customs team has been energized by the outpouring of support we've received as finalists in She Leads Africa. We plan to leave the competition and build, build, build. We are ready to get the mobile app launched and in the hands of users. We will take a large chunk of the money and put it into the technical development of the app. We will utilize any remaining funds to support a regional tour on the continent where we can spend time building partnerships with businesses that fit our brand and our users. Having strong ties on the continent is critical to our growth and success. Beyond the takeaways for our business, I look forward to building a strong network of women committed to affecting positive change on the African continent through entrepreneurship.

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Jade Mann (Founder, Night Bus) 

I am based in Johannesburg, South Africa. I have a corporate law and operations background and have worked for some of the top corporate law firms in South Africa. I also ran national retail operations for a well-known local fashion label for almost two years and on the transportation side operated a successful business in the event transport space. 

Night Bus is a dedicated fixed line bus service that runs between nightlife hubs in Joburg, throughout the night. The buses are kitted out and offer an engaging on-board experience that offers relevant content and entertainment, making transport part of the overall party experience. The service will launch in Joburg, with plans to roll out to other cities in South Africa and in developing markets as well.

Why did you apply for She Leads Africa?: I applied to She Leads Africa because there is a gap in early stage funding for enterprise in Africa. It’s everywhere on the continent but even in comparatively advanced markets like South Africa. This funding gap has a disproportionate impact on women entrepreneurs who always face greater barriers than male entrepreneurs across the board. She Leads Africa is attacking this problem at the route root, and that’s why I applied: because I need to secure early stage funding for my business. Even when women have a great deal of conviction about their businesses and with great business models, they still face barriers to funding. 

What do you hope to take away from this experience?: Even just being a finalist in this competition means that I get the chance to get my business in front of top- tier investors and entrepreneurs and to get their input and advice which to me is invaluable. It’s also a chance to engage with and learn other inspiring female entrepreneurs, including not only the finalists amazing founders of She Leads Africa the other contestants.  

  

 Read my detailed interview with them here

APPLY!: Mara One-on-One Mentorship Programme

 

Would you like to be mentored by Nigeria’s most successful business leaders?

Applications are now open for six-month business mentorship placements as Mara Mentor plans to host the sequel to its exceedingly successful Mara Mentor One-on-One Lagos event, where over 60 young Nigerian entrepreneurs won business mentorship placement under top Nigerian business leaders. An initiative of Mara Foundation, the Mara Mentor One-on-One business pitch session, which has recorded great success in Africa, having been held 10 times across the continent, is now set to hold in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on the 14th of October 2014.

Register on the Mara Mentor entrepreneurship community and apply now for a chance to win a six-month mentorship placement under Nigeria’s finest entrepreneurs.

This initiative is designed to help young enterprises survive the cut-throat world of business by creating alliances with strong players who have already succeeded in running successful companies. Through this programme, young entrepreneurs will be able to position their businesses for sustainable growth through one-on-one sessions with a Mentor drawn from the top of the business world.

Mentors will help young entrepreneurs to:

• Understand their business and sector better
• Develop their leadership skills and business acumen
• Improve their business decision-making in relation to the pertinent issues within their company
• Expand their professional network
• Create jobs and ultimately ease unemployment in the country

Click here to check out results of Mara One-on-One event held in Lagos, Nigeria on the 30th of July, 2014.

If you have questions, check out our FAQ section.

If you are a registered member, click on the "Login" button to sign in and then visit the Mara One-on-One page to complete the registration form.

If you are not a member yet, register with us by clicking on "Register" and then visit the Mara One-on-One page to complete the registration form.

Source: Mara Mentor 

Growing African economy Through Agriculture, Expert Speaks

In Africa, the Population Reference Bureau estimates that Africa’s population will to rise to as much as 2.4 billion by the year 2050 - with the youth accounting for about 40 percent of this number. The number of African youths by this time will constitute over a quarter of the world’s labour force.

The good news is that Economists have deduced that Africa’s booming population could be to Africa’s advantage, especially because of the continent’s great agriculture potential and the viable investment it presents in this present age of consumerism.

Yet the agricultural growth is not as rapid as expected. It is yet to reach the full growth potential in addressing unemployment and other social deviances as well as in contributing judiciously into the national incomes - compared to other nations like China and Brazil where agribusiness and agro-industry are the chief driver of their economy.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that of the nearly 870 million people in the world suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2010-2012, the number of hungry people grew in Africa over the period, from 175 million to 239 million, with nearly 20 million added in the last few years.

Bunmi Ajilore, a Nigerian Agriculturist and soil scientist says a cursory look at the agri-sector of most developed nation will prove that issues with agricultural development stems from the wrong image and perception of young people towards agriculture.

He confessed that when he was much younger, he had a negative impression about agriculture as a profession but now his views have changed, thanks to education.

“In school, I started seeing agriculture in another light ...as a viable, lively, practicable and profitable profession,” he said.

Other issues like access to land, credit facilities/resources are other factors that stand in the way of agribusiness growth in his country.

Bunmi is from Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and biggest economy. The Western region country is blessed with a considerable vast amount of land but its major economic concern till now in terms of GDP revenue has been on oil production.

Like Bunmi, Ngouambe Nestor, a Cameroonian agricultural economist and consultant with experience in agricultural extension and rural advisory services says young people are no longer interested in agriculture.

“In my Country (Cameroon), the key challenge is to move from subsistence agriculture to strong agribusiness. But as in many emerging countries, we still lack a strong agriculture policy to better manage and exploit all resources we have.”

Nestor complained that most political, social and cultural consideration are still limiting investment in agricultural sector with women and youth as the most concerned and that even with the various strategies defined like the Cameroon 2035 vision, these projects are not turned to concrete actions.

Other challenges faced includes “Land grabbing, limited access to credit, limited access to agricultural advisory services or extension services, massive importation of food stuffs,” he said.

The issue is not that far-fetched from that of Zimbabwe where Raymond Erick Zvavanyange, a professional agriculturalist in public and private enterprises and the country’s representative under the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPAD) identified lack of technical and professional training; deterioration of ethics in business and professional engagements; socio-political Interference, as well as general business and production challenges such as high staff turnover rate as some of the challenges facing agribusiness.

Prospect and opportunities

While confirming that Africa is the only continent able to produce various agricultural produce they want, Nestor says there are a lot of opportunities in agribusiness in Africa with great land cultivation surface potential as well as water resource to help modernise and transform agriculture.

Kenya’s Grace Wanene, the co-founder of “Agrinovations Enterprises”, an agribusiness company based in Kenya with interests in youth and agribusiness says one area of agribusiness that is flourishing in Kenya is the areas of seed, fertilizers and agrochemicals, as large number of companies are seen trading in this sector as well as the large number of new entrants into the field.

Companies that deal in agricultural technologies, especially greenhouse and irrigation technologies are also flourishing and there are several new entrants into this field as well.

Grace however said agribusiness opportunities in Kenya, especially those relating to agro-processing, haven’t been fully exploited.

There are two reasons for this, she said.

“First, most of Kenya’s farmers are small holder farmers and they usually cannot meet the demand for raw materials for processing industries. Therefore, the few processing companies who have succeeded in this area often have to enter into some kind of contract farming agreement with the farmers. Secondly setting agricultural up an agricultural processing plant is also rather costly.”

Another unexploited opportunity is in produce aggregation. There are several companies who aggregate produce for export but few who do it for processing companies, she said.

Investors willing to invest in Zimbabwe agricultural sector can look into the areas of Horticulture, Agronomy enterprises, crop and livestock production, Information and dissemination (Esoko & Econet Wireless), Consultancy services and Aquaculture; Raymond quipped.

However, Nestor argued that while Africa still has the best opportunities in agricultural production worldwide with more agribusiness opportunities, more investment should be made in the agricultural sector by creating more opportunities for young people willing to enter within the sector.

“To make agribusiness more vibrant there is the necessity to develop public-private partnership in one hand and private-private partnership in other hand. Because these partnerships creates more business opportunities and can be more benefit to all actors implied along the subsectors concerned,” he said.

Grace Wanene also supports this assertion, saying, African countries must focus on agriculture entrepreneurship because subsistence and non-commercial agriculture hasn’t worked out so well so far.

The Role of Government in Promoting Agribusiness (Government vs Private individual) 

Like in Nigeria and virtually most part of Africa, most of the investments in agri-business are through private sector.

In Cameroon, Nestor says agribusiness is dominated by the big foreign enterprises involved in food production, food processing, etc.

“Government has less than 10 big agriculture enterprises. And others services offered by state are no longer adequate with the actual context of agribusiness, which is why many enterprises choose private sector as their priority,” he explained.

“To make agribusiness more vibrant there is the necessity to develop public-private partnership in one hand and private-private partnership in other hand. Because these partnerships creates more business opportunities and can be more benefit to all actors implies along the subsectors concerned.”

He argued that African governments cannot talk about economy emergence without infrastructure as Infrastructural facilities are the key for agribusiness.

What can you do if your potatoes enterprise cannot respond to market demand because of lack of road, lack of communication facilities? Most production enterprises   are based in rural areas victim of poor infrastructure facilities. That is why Government and development partners must take this issue as priority to develop agribusiness in Africa.

Nestor posits that with new agri-policy, couple with the involvement of State in the promotion of the creation of cooperative societies, agribusiness will be at the top in the next 10 years.

Already, Cameroon has a new law facilitating the process for creation of enterprise to enable individual formally create an agri-business enterprise under 48 hours.

In neighbouring East Africa’s largest economy, Kenya, the situation is almost the same. Grace says although there are some government-owned agri-business in Kenya, the East African growth in agribusiness has been fuelled mainly by private companies.

For example, some government owned agribusiness companies such as the Kenya Meat Commission and New Kenya Co-operative Creameries Ltd are expected to be privatised soon.

Grace said government can help to develop basic infrastructures to increase farmer’s access to processors and markets which will in turn lead to production of value added products at a better price.

According to her, “Financial investment in agribusiness companies and commercialisation of family farming for instance through producer groups” are what is needed for sustainable growth in Africa agricultural sector.

Zimbabwe’s Raymond Zvavanyange also believes that the government can transform the face of Africa through agriculture.

He explained that governments by virtue of its establishments are supposed to facilitate and uphold the nation's conscience and compass-to promote citizen growth, free enterprise, economic freedom, and nurturing of businesses but in a number of cases, the entrepreneurial spirit of African people's (as well as suffering) who have limited economic choices, is taken advantage of.

He however noted that private organisations and individuals have a role to play in moving agri-business forward in Africa.

According to him, “Individuals have many interconnected and important roles that work closely to promote agribusiness. First, is personal initiative and drive. This will fall into the personality, character and motivation category. Secondly, individuals have an obligation to obey the laws of business and trade, including remitting taxes and other legal burdens from respective governments. Thirdly, individuals have a role in understanding and dealing with risk in agribusiness.”

Citing an example of the global food crisis of 2008, Raymond argued that “without a sound education on risk and how it affects businesses in Africa, millions of lives can be put at risk over night in the face of surprises in current business frameworks.”

The Future

Although Bunmi said people’s reaction towards agribusiness is now changing as there is tendency for Nigerians to pick up agribusiness nowadays better than it was in the past; he said people still sometimes pick up agribusiness as “a last resort...not a plan A.”

Bunmi said after decades of under-investment in agriculture by Nigeria and other African governments, agri-business has come back to the forefront and with the launch of CAADP in 2003 by African leaders and more funding is coming into the sector.

He sees his country Nigeria playing an active and leadership role in that regard and being major exporter of agri and agro-allied products by 2050 while meetings it own needs. He also expects African agriculture to have grown so much to enable Africa to adequately feed itself and become a net exporter.

He advocates for a rethink in the way agriculture is being practiced in Nigeria as more work and incentives are needed to be put in place to make agriculture a first and viable option for more young people.

“With better productivity and better marketing structures, will come better incomes for farmers,” Bunmi said.

One of the most important relevant solutions to promoting agri-business in Africa is the application of ICT into the sector. Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Botswana are already adopting this culture and the positives are becoming palpable.

Continentally, Nestor believes that “there is a strong necessity of agriculture reform in many African countries. Many countries have signed CAADP in Maputo in 2003 in which it was recommended to all government to allow at least 10% of their budget to agricultural sector” but he says “it is time to seriously take into account this recommendation.”

Agriculture must be considered as a profession and farmers as rural or agri entrepreneurs. This, he says, will incite people to return to their primary job of agriculture.

Originally published for Rural Reporters

Interview: Dangers, Opportunities and Solutions of Healthcare Delivery In Rural Nigeria

Aside from low health care facilities, self-medication and inaccessibility of quality drugs are one of the dangers facing health development in rural parts of Nigeria and the world in general.

According to Tanimola Akande, a professor of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State in his the delivery of the 142nd inaugural lecture of the University of Ilorin entitled “Population with Ill-health Burden: Faced with a Sick Health System”; Nigeria loses N81 billion annually to importation of fake and counterfeit drugs, especially from Asian countries –contributing to Nigeria’s ill health system.

An official statistics from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) also shows that over N20 billion worth of counterfeit drugs and other substandard products had been destroyed by the agency since 2009.

Now, concerned young people such as Adebayo Alonge are not sitting back to watch the health of vulnerable people in Nigeria deteriorate. They are working towards making sure that Nigerians have access to quality drugs to improve their health.

Adebayo Alonge is a healthcare entrepreneur with professional training in pharmacy, business and entrepreneurship at the University of Ibadan, Lagos Business School and the Yale school of management. He is the founder of Lusoy Investments Limited, a pharma distribution company that distributes healthcare solutions to rural communities.

According to him, “Our (his company) emphasis is on ensuring that low income markets can afford healthcare solutions and we use a variety of means including cross-subsidies, contracts and donated outreaches to deliver these solutions.”

What has been your contribution(s) towards health development in Nigeria?

My work has been focused previously on volunteering with multilateral health organizations to work in rural areas with low healthcare capacity. This volunteer work saw me provide free healthcare services with the Global HIV/AIDs Initiative to communities in Oyo and Bayara located in southwest and north east Nigeria. In 2010, I also was involved in conducting a campaign that helped raise awareness in Bauchi town about HIV and its negative social impact. The campaign was conducted over 90 days and involved multi-stakeholder discussions aimed at generating community buy-in, media interviews, secondary school debates and culminated in the organization of a fund-raising dinner for children orphaned as a result of AIDs.

You are into the business of providing quality pharmaceutical drugs. How is sub-standard drug affecting a business such as yours and what practical approach would you suggest to stop sub-standard from eroding the market, especially in rural parts of the country?

My business provides healthcare solutions which include high quality pharmaceuticals. A recent study put the current level of substandard anti-malarial medicines in Lagos at over 80 percent of anti-malarial medicines in circulation. If the level is that high in Lagos which has a high level of regulation, you can imagine how bad the situation is in rural areas where many regulatory task forces never get to. Many rural communities lack professionally run health facilities. Government owned primary health centres are often dilapidated with many of the staff not turning up at work. Nigeria has too few healthcare professionals, most of whom prefer to set up practice in urban centres whose inhabitants can pay higher rates for their services. This gap in healthcare provision has been filled in rural communities by unscrupulous quacks that set up chemist shops where they double both as doctor and dispensers. Most run non-sterile wards where they conduct minor surgeries. As these quacks aim to maximize profit, they make use of the cheapest medical supplies and medicines which they often sell at above market rates. Rural dwellers patronize them due to the absence of choice. There is no gainsaying the number of people who have died from these quack services.

Substandard medicines have eroded the rural markets and my suggestions will be aimed at creating market incentives that roll back the patronage they currently enjoy. The following constitute actionable steps that can be taken:-

1.       Roll back regulatory barriers that prevent healthcare professionals from running chains of healthcare centres. This prevents them from setting up more than one health centre and reduces the spread of their impact.

2.      Rural healthcare task forces reporting to the regulatory agencies should curtail quack practices and ensure that licensed rural health centres maintain high standards of professional care.

3.      Private sector run rural health centres should be the basis of healthcare provision in rural areas. The government cannot efficiently deploy these centres and it needs to incentivize healthcare professionals to set up centres within 6 miles of every rural community. Incentives should be built around mobile phone- based healthcare micro-insurance subscription for every rural dweller which the local governments have a responsibility to pay for.

4.      Extension services through community health workers should provide free diagnostic services in rural communities. This will help create health seeking behavior in serviced communities and will help create sustainable context in which health centres can better succeed.

5.      Toll free lines to the regulatory agency that helps rural dwellers report instance of poor service delivery and drug adverse effects. This will ensure high service quality from healthcare professionals whose professional licences are used to run these centres and who risk disciplinary action for failing to deliver appropriate standards of care.

These actions will create centres whose medical supplies pipelines can be traced and secured thereby eliminating channels through which substandard medicines get to rural end users.

From your experience, what are the factors mitigating against quality medicines in rural Nigeria?

The single most important factor is the absence of professionally run health centres. This has led to a situation where pharmaceutical distributors such as my company- Lusoy Investments find it difficult to identify sustainable demand points in rural communities. As a result, cost of sales is high and since well-established quack channels have a penchant for low priced substandard medicines, purveyors of high quality medicines like me have no incentives to get their products to rural dwellers.

Other factors such as accessibility and affordability of professionally run health centres derive from the first. Difficult in accessing high quality healthcare raises the cost for those who eventually do, thus making it too expensive for them.

Solutions should centre on creating incentives for private healthcare entrepreneurs through reduction in regulatory barriers, improvement of regulation, improvement in rural infrastructure-roads and electricity. Health-subsidies (provided by local governments) are also required to improve health seeking behaviour and affordability for rural communities.

Read more: http://ruralreporters.com/adebayo-alonge-improving-access-to-quality-and-affordable-health-solutions-in-nigeria/