Nigeria is leading the burgeoning Africa’s tech ecosystem with various innovative ideas that have been attracting investors from around the world. With Africa’s tech investment volume at more than $2.5 billion in 2021, the focus has been on fintech and e-Commerce. Nigeria leads other African countries with $1.7 billion share of the total investment fund received.
But while the payment industry has received the most attention from investors, other sectors like transport, edtech and now telemedicine, are gradually grabbing interest as investors are beginning to bet their money on them. To foster investors’ interest, innovators are building platforms to reach the underserved in the above mentioned areas.
HealthPlus, Nigeria’s first integrative pharmacy, has launched West Africa’s first-ever ePharmacy and digital prescription platform to help Nigerians in Nigerian and elsewhere to get a prescription from a certified pharmacist and have the medicines delivered promptly.
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“This is a very exciting offering that combines technology and the capabilities of fast-growing sector dynamics of Healthcare and e-Commerce in synergy to deliver high-quality customer-centric customer patient care. It gives our customers a channel to conveniently get a wide array of their medical needs with the added benefit of One-on-One pharmaceutical consulting through our bespoke “Chat with a Pharmacist” functionality that ensures patients are getting exactly what they require for their optimum health,” Ernest Eguasa, CFO HealthPlus Limited said.
This game-changing application will facilitate the interaction between patients (customers) and health-service providers nationwide. It also marks a big step in the democratization of health in Nigeria and provides unprecedented healthcare access for Nigerians in all geographical locations.
“Healthcare in Africa is at an inflection point and has proven its ability to leapfrog traditional business models; it is becoming more consumer-focused and precision-driven. With this technology and platform, we are increasingly focused on preventative care and patients’ well-being, in providing access at their fingertips and the last mile,” Afsane Jetha, Managing Partner & CEO Alta Semper and HealthPlus’s private equity partner stated.
Though Africa has telemedicine companies like Lafiya Telehealth, serving Nigeria and the rest of the continent, the healthcare gap remains huge and the involvement of pharmacies in filling it scanty. Only 25% of Nigeria’s local governments have any sort of pharmacy. That means, 70% of Nigeria’s local government areas have no access to a pharmacist.
HealthPlus’ Chief Transformational Officer Chidi Okoro pledged that the company “will help bridge this gap,” he added that “Nigeria has one of the lowest productivity rates in the world. This is due to absenteeism and inadequate health care. If more Nigerians have access to health and we take a more proactive approach, productivity will increase significantly.
“Pharmacists are the first point of care for many Nigerians and are critical to ensure access to essential drugs. The HealthPlus ePharmacy platform is following the mission to enhance access to wholesome medicines and good pharmacy care services. Customers can now access professional pharmacists online from the comfort of their homes using mobile devices.”
The outbreak of covid-19, which ushered in the digital life, where in-person activities such as going to the drug store or talking to a health professional, can be done online, spurred the telemedicine idea.
The HealthPlus ePharmacy was inspired by the rise in the number of internet consumers, increased access to web-based and online services, and the rising implementation of e-prescriptions in hospitals and other healthcare services.
Nigeria has a huge number of underserved when it comes to healthcare, with hospitals and pharmacies miles away from the location of a large number of people. This poses a challenge for many to receive quality healthcare. But with the prevalence of mobile internet, HealthPlus is hoping to reach as many people as possible using its digital platform.
“In keeping with its commitment to raise the standard of care, provide safe access to wholesome medications and reduce wait times, HealthPlus is utilizing the latest technology to consolidate the compendium of care and expand our vision to our customer’s mobile devices,” Okoro said.
Nigeria has more than 120 million mobile phone users and about 108 million internet users. HealthPlus is hoping to utilize the telecom to connect more Nigerians to qualified pharmacists and fast-track the provision of efficient health care.
“HealthPlus is at the forefront of being able to respond to this industry evolution, given the strength of the Company’s brand and its growing footprint nationally, we plan to dedicate further efforts to transformative initiatives aimed at integrating end-to-end healthcare services for our customers,” Zachary Fond, Managing Director at Alta Semper said.