"The early stages of Advantage Health Africa's journey were marked by a sense of embarrassment."
In 2017, Abimbola Adebakin, a seasoned pharmacist with a knack for organisational strategy and consulting, founded Advantage Health Africa (AHA). The organisation's mission: to make access to quality and affordable medicines as easy as ordering food.
AHA runs two interlinked businesses: direct-to-consumer services through MyMedicines and business-to-business distribution. MyMedicines, launched in October 2017, saw slow but steady traction until COVID-19 hit, making its services essential and leading to a 10x increase in revenue.
AHA's flagship platform, MyMedicines, delivers prescriptions across Nigeria, even to remote areas. The company prides itself on delivering prescriptions and medicines at all hours, including 11 pm deliveries to hotels in Ikeja, Nigeria.
However, AHA's journey has not been without its setbacks. In 2018, a partnership with a team from Cape Verde to help with tech development was unsuccessful. Another attempt to build the tech infrastructure for AHA in 2021 also met with challenges.
In an effort to overcome these hurdles, AHA switched to selective distribution, a move that took off once a seasoned MD with sales and marketing experience was brought on board. This strategy has proven successful, with AHA now serving over 30 Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and moving thousands of orders monthly.
AHA's proprietary inventory visibility platform, The Advantage, has been instrumental in this success. The company also boasts a range of branded generics, such as DHA Plus and Relsid Plus, that are now thriving in the market.
Despite these achievements, AHA has faced challenges in other areas. An attempt to build a pharmacy franchise called MyPharmacy was shut down within 12 months due to timing and tech issues. AHA also found wholesaling to pharmacies to be unscalable, with brutal margins and limited scale.
In response to these challenges, AHA is looking to integrate its services more tightly. The organisation is open to joining a larger healthtech group where its infrastructure becomes the backbone, continuing its mission to make quality healthcare more accessible across Nigeria.
In recognition of its work, Bayer Foundation selected AHA for their Women Empowerment Program in 2021. This partnership will undoubtedly help AHA continue to thrive and expand its reach, making a significant impact on healthcare accessibility in Nigeria.
One shining example of AHA's success is a staff member who, once working full-time while doing construction gigs to survive, is now a manager and has won awards. This is a testament to AHA's commitment to its team and its mission.
In 2019-2020, AHA raised approximately ₦300 million (~$1M at the time) from angel investors. Since then, the organisation has mostly run on cash flow and strategic debt.
As AHA continues to grow and adapt, it remains committed to its mission of making healthcare more accessible for all Nigerians. With its innovative approach and resilience in the face of challenges, Advantage Health Africa is certainly living up to its name.
