Mogul

in the continent is suffering. How can we get these assets to come home and replicate that success?

I grew up in an era of political contestation fragmented by a dominant military disposition. The military hegemonic oligarchy, which was once a dominant political construct in the Nigerian state, has now faded into the dust of political history but caused a lot of instability in the country.

In my opinion, that was the beginning of the brain drain in Nigeria. Before 1985, the Naira was stronger than the dollar. With the military in government, there was instability because it’s not the will of the people. There was no safety. Any one could be arrested and jailed.

And finally, when a democratic government was installed, people started leaving for economic reasons.

I also left because it was very difficult at the time I graduated. Doctors were not really paid much. You couldn’t even afford to buy a car, and people working in the banking industry were getting paid more than doctors. Many people left for greener pastures to develop themselves and live a better life.

Now that we have Nigerians breaking barriers worldwide, we have enough people to come back to Nigeria and make a difference. We must however create a fostering environment for people to come back.

The first thing is to ensure safety. Right now, Nigeria is not functionally safe. There are lots of kidnappings and other security challenges. Diasporans want to relocate back to their land but safety has to guaranteed for them and their families. That’s the first problem that needs to be fixed.

And also, the economy needs to be improved. People don’t have money to eat, so how will they afford healthcare when they can’t feed themselves? Healthcare in Nigeria is still a fee-for-service system. Unlike in America or the UK, where there is an insurance scheme. I know the insurance system is now available in Nigeria but it is till growing and not as robust and comprehensive. The low income class people who really need insurance can’t afford fee for service healthcare. Healthcare also needs to be regularized. We have to ensure that our healthcare system, in terms of insurance, becomes more widespread for the average person in Surulere or Ajegunle to afford.

The other thing is that power has to be consistent and reliable. Nigeria’s power supply is still very intermittent. You have to spend a lot of money on diesel to generate power for your home or business. Guess what? That overhead cost will have be transferred to patients who can barely afford the essential things already.

If we fix these things, people will relocate back to Nigeria. People are relocating now albeit slowly. The truth is, Nigerians want to come back. They are one of the most patriotic people in the world. They want to improve the country, but you have to create an enabling environment and reach out to experts in different fields.

That’s why I think the leadership we need in Nigeria must be meritocratic as well as technocratic

We have to put somebody in there that is exposed and understands that things have to be based on merit. You don’t make somebody the minister of Petroleum when the person is not an engineer or make a lawyer the minister of health. The emphasis should not be on the person; the focus should be on the country because the vision is always bigger than the visioner. The vision always outlives the visioner.

What have been the most challenging moments of your career?

I’ve had many challenging moments, which I’m chronicling in my book. I’ll tell you a couple of them. I’ve already told you about my accident when I graduated from medical school. When I came to the United States, I had another accident. It was when I just started Cardiology, which was what I’ve always wanted to do.

I was rear ended on my way tom work on a bridge in New York and my car climbed the side rails and left hanging on the bridge. The car almost fell into the ocean. I had to crawl out through the window. I had a concussion and was in the hospital. My family didn’t even know about it because I didn’t tell many people.

What lessons have you learnt in your journey?

First of all, God has to be your essence. The rhythm of my existence is captured in my spirituality. God is the focus and essence of everything I do, hence my name, Oluwarotimi, which means God is always with me.

I have learnt that without commitment, you cannot start anything and without consistency, you can’t finish. You have to be persistent. Some of the key factors of success are time, persistence and work. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. And you have to believe in yourself.

My dad always told me,‘ born to win means born to fight. If you’re going to be special, you will be faced with many adversities

Folake Owodunni is Redefining How Africans Respond to Health Emergency

Interview || By Dimeji Akinloye

Growing up in a culture where government first responders are the last to show up in emergency situations, many Africans, by default, resort to self-help. But for someone like Nigerian entrepreneur Folake Owodunmi who lives in Canada, where the healthcare system is functional, it is an anomaly.

With a burning desire to solve one of Africa’s biggest problems, Folake returned to Nigeria to start Emergency Response Africa, a healthcare technology company building the largest network of First Responders in Africa, starting with Nigeria.

Folake tells Business Elites Africa that she’s determined to bring the incessant unnecessary deaths due to poor healthcare in Africa to the barest minimum. But how will she scale the systemic and economic hurdles in her path? She bares it all in this interview.

Why did you start Emergency Response Africa?

It came from my personal experience with my family. I have two children. And when my son was about a year and a half old, he had a medical emergency. It happened in the middle of the night, but it also happened in Canada, specifically. And the only thing I needed to do was call 911, which I did. Within about ten minutes, an ambulance arrived with two paramedics. They came into the house, they attended to him and fortunately, it turned out to be a minor emergency. At the end of it, they said, ‘you really don’t need to go to the hospital. He seems to be fine.’ They advised that I may go and see my doctor in the morning if necessary, and that was the end.

And I remember thinking that if this had happened in Nigeria, I would probably have gone to my neighbour’s door and say, ‘please come and take us to the hospital.’ They would have driven us to the hospital, and the hospital near my house in Nigeria at the time had a very bad reputation.

So, I already knew that even if we got to the hospital, there was a risk that we would be delayed or sent to more than one facility, which happens very often. Knowing this is a gap in our system today and I have a background in public health, and I’ve always been very interested in how to make healthcare better and more accessible, I pursued the opportunity.

What’s your background in public health?

I studied Biology for my first degree and went on to do a Master’s in World Health and Development. And as a part of that, I was very interested in policy and program design. I also recently completed another Masters in Business Entrepreneurship on Technology. So, Emergency Response Africa is a combination of those things.

How exactly does Emergency Response Africa work?

We are building the largest network of first responders, emergency vehicles and hospitals and putting them on a platform that allows us to coordinate them efficiently. What that means is whether you’re in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt and, soon, many more cities across Nigeria, if you have an emergency and need help, you reach out to us, we will be able to get you a responder or an ambulance on the scene as quickly as possible.

People can reach out to us through our 24/7 toll-free line, which is 08000-2255-372. It means you can call us even though you don’t have airtime, and you will reach a medical dispatcher. This is somebody who’s trained as a paramedic but also understands how to triage your case over the phone and determine the type of care you need.

The second way people can reach us is via our mobile app called signal by ERA, which is available on both the Google play store and Apple store. Once your request is submitted through the app, the dispatch receives it on their end, and they can complete that process. Once that request is in progress, we send out our first responders to the

scene, and they treat the patient as much as possible. We deliver care at the emergency scene, and if the person needs to go to the hospital, we also facilitate that transportation.

I want to mention also that our first responders can arrive not just with an ambulance but also with a motorcycle, and when you think of a place like Lagos, that’s especially important because of the traffic.

It’s one thing to conceptualise an idea; execution is a different ball game. How was the experience, when you launched the business?

With any new business, you learn as you go, and there’s a lot you won’t know until you start. I think this point that I mentioned about low trust; I believe our team understood that this is not something that exists in a really strong way right now, which means that people are not used to it.

We find that people often reach out to emergency services as a last resort. Whereas it is supposed to be the first. We want to change that. I think conversations like this are a big part of changing that, helping people see that when you have something that strikes you as an emergency, don’t wait or try another method, pouring water and the like. Don’t do everything except reach out to an emergency provider. Let that be your first effort.

I think we’re starting to see that some people are learning a little more. I think the education that we’re doing is helping.

Can an ordinary Nigerian afford your service, though?

What we do is try to find different ways to make it accessible. So, first of all, anyone can follow us, reach us, and use the service. However, there is a fee attached, and the truth is not everyone can pay for it. And that’s a big part of why some of the things we’ll be doing later this year are finding opportunities to work with the government and collaborate with other brands interested in providing some sort of funding to subsidise our service delivery for those who can’t afford it.

I’ll give you an example. We often get calls that somebody has been knocked down on the road or somebody finds somebody unconscious, but there is nobody to take responsibility. One of the most difficult things for an emergency service provider is the inability to go in and address those situations. That’s because there is no clear path as to how we will identify the next of kin. Are we taking them to the hospital? Do they have insurance?

Those are all the things that need to be considered. As a business, we know that while we can provide our service to the individuals who can afford it and work with the corporates, a huge segment of the population needs to be covered. I think that’s where government collaboration comes in.

We have some of this coming up, which we are really excited about, but I can’t share too much at this stage. But I do think that’s really going to be the path to scaling our service delivery to cover as many Nigerians as possible.

If I had an emergency and called Emergency Response Africa, what’s the fee?

It varies very widely because it depends on several factors. So, if someone is not being transported, there’s a certain price. If someone is being transported, it’s a different price. It depends on the level of care that is required. There is a very big difference between a basic life support ambulance and a mobile Intensive Care Unit (ICU). So, I can’t tell you that this is the price.

I would say that affordability is a challenge for many people on a single transfer or a single response basis. And that’s why we’re taking several measures. We’re starting to engage in partnerships with either community or corporate organisations to allow people to