Healthcare in Nigeria is difficult to access. This is a situation that we have grappled with for years. But we need a solution. With technology-internet-now a major part of our daily lives. It is offering tools to this dearth of healthcare in the country. One of such companies exploring tech to profer solutions to this problem is DoctorNow. We caught up with Mayowa Kolade, the Executive Lead of DoctorNow. He spoke about how his startup is solving the country’s health care problems. Excerpts
What’s your educational and professional background?
I am Mayowa Kolade, an alumnus of Nigeria’s premier medical school (UI/UCH Ibadan) and hold a fellowship in healthcare quality and patient safety as well as educational stints in business & management. Our founding team is made up of professionals with a diverse experience-base in clinical practice, leadership, business & finance management with extensive experience in public and private sectors.
What is DoctorNow? What would be an elevator pitch for someone who does not know about your company and your services?
DoctorNow is an on-demand medical consultation/advisory service connecting users with qualified & caring medical doctors, to provide reliable answers to health concerns the moment they need them, via chat, voice or video calls. This is done via secure social messaging channels (such as WhatsApp- the most ubiquitous tech platform in Africa), giving simple, reliable, secure, convenient and yet affordable access to healthcare advice round-the-clock.
Walk us through DoctorNow business model. How do you make money to keep the lights on, and where do revenues stand today?
We run both business-to-consumer & business-to-business models with individual users paying a token per consult whilst participating businesses/employers include access to DoctorNow as part of the health benefits package for their employees.
How has your startup managed to grow so rapidly? Did you bootstrapped or did you raise outside funding at any point in time?
We’ve been totally bootstrapped- even the boot & straps were themselves bootstrapped. A major turning point for us was the acceptance (by WhatsApp’s parent company- Facebook) for DoctorNow to be on the WhatsApp business pilot program (as arguably the only Nigerian startup granted access when only hundred-plus companies globally were granted access to the pilot). This allowed DoctorNow pioneer the delivery of health advice via this channel, opening us to a potentially large market
How do you see your solutions evolving in the next five to 5 years?
We see DoctorNow evolve into becoming a “first-in-mind” solution for on-demand healthcare delivery across West Africa further enhanced by increased internet penetration. So that just as how you “google” it when you need information on a subject, when you need to access quality health advice immediately or a second opinion, you’d simply go online and DoctorNow it!
How is DoctorNow making a difference in health, and what do you believe is the state of health in Nigeria these days?
It’s no news that our nation’s healthcare system is quite far from where it ought to be, due to multiple factors and dwelling on these can quench the light out of the tunnel. However, what’s more interesting, in these challenging times, is the massive potential for solutions to turn the tide. DoctorNow is working night and day to make a significant impact in the Nigerian healthcare space by primarily addressing pain-points in the system which create barriers to accessing quality healthcare advice. We’ve eliminated the challenges of physical distance from quality health care (we’re on your mobile phone), long waiting times (we’re available on-demand), stigma (we’re confidential and you can be anonymous), difficulty & complexity of health systems (we use simple platforms- WhatsApp) and cost (we’re highly affordable).
What unique challenges have a health company like yours encountered in doing business in Nigeria?
Amongst many, peculiar to our sector is the presence of ‘established’ behavioural patterns of most Nigerians in seeking healthcare, which would many times see them patronise a roadside concoction vendor, rather than reach qualified personnel first- and this is one major thing we hope to turn around by making it really easy to reach a DoctorNow™️, anytime, anywhere!
What’s your personal leadership philosophy? What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs?
Use what you have…Start from where you are…and Keep it SIMPLE!
