Bryan Mezue, co-founder of Lifestores, provides an in-depth look at how his company is addressing critical healthcare challenges in Nigeria. In this interview, he discusses how Lifestores' digital solutions are enhancing the efficiency of community pharmacies and driving improvements in patient care. Discover the vision behind Lifestores and its impact on the healthcare system in Africa.
How Lifestores' Digital Infrastructure Helps Community Pharmacies to Save More Lives
We sat down with Bryan Mezue, one of ABH 2023's Top 10 heroes and the co-founder of Nigeria's leading healthtech company, Lifestores, to discuss the impact the company has had to date and the lessons he has learned along the way.
Could you share the solution that LifeStores offers and how it solves healthcare problems unique to Nigeria?
At Lifestores we believe essential healthcare is a human right; however it is unequally distributed. For example there is a >25 year life expectancy gap between Nigeria and leading developed countries. Healthcare providers (HCPs) are at the center of the African healthcare system, with community pharmacies in particular playing a crucial frontline role in educating and serving patients.
Lifestores supports pharmacies by taking care of critical & time-consuming activities so that pharmacists can focus on serving their patients. We are building modern digital infrastructure for pharmacies, thus increasing their financial sustainability and extending the patient impact that each pharmacist has. If we're wildly successful, we will help to increase human lifespans and quality of life in Nigeria & other developing countries.
What services and products do you offer, and who are you targeting with your offerings?
Our customers are owners of pharmacies, clinics and healthcare providers. Our products enable them to reorder medications at lower prices, access financing without the normal hurdles, generate more revenue by expanding their customer bases, and better manage patient records.
Pharmacist uses PharmIO a platform developed by Lifestores
How did you and your co-founders conclude that this is a problem you wanted to solve?
My co-founder Andrew and I both had personal experiences that convinced us the problem was worth dedicating ourselves to. Andrew had worked at one of the largest healthcare distributors in Nigeria, where he saw firsthand the central role that pharmacies played, and their challenges with procurement, financing and managing patient records. On my side, I came from a “healthcare family” so I grew up living and breathing the industry – in particular, on frequent trips to Abuja, I often stayed with an uncle who ran a pharmacy chain; we would talk often about how better processes and technology could improve operations. When Andrew and I were introduced, through a mutual colleague at our old employer Bain & Company, it quickly became clear that we were both passionate about the opportunity to create a huge impact in the sector.
Operating a business in Africa comes with unique challenges different from other markets. Can you share examples of the challenges you have faced as a result of operating your business in Africa?
Building a great company is often compared to jumping off a cliff and assembling a plane on the way down. African entrepreneurs have the added complication of navigating a swirling hurricane and finding sufficient jet fuel to power the plane. Many of the challenges in Africa are well-documented – e.g. underdeveloped energy & transport infrastructure, volatile investor appetite and protracted fundraising cycles, governance risks, etc. At Lifestores, one important challenge that we recognised early on and invested into was human capital: we observed plenty of raw, ambitious talent but there was often a yawning gap to the finished article. We decided to design our own unique training and professional development program using best-in-class practices from institutions such as Bain, Harvard or Stanford to develop managers and leaders able to compete against the world’s best talent. As a result, Lifestores today has built a high-performance culture and is an attractive environment for ambitious professionals who want to be future leaders or entrepreneurs.
How do you differentiate yourself from other players working to solve the same problem in Nigeria? How have you been able to grow and expand despite existing competition?
Lifestores operates in a market that is critically under-developed, with huge white space for growth – for example, in Nigeria, open market pharmaceutical wholesalers are rife and 90%+ of patient transactions are uninsured. We belong to a new generation of disruptive companies seeking to address these opportunities, where our biggest competition is often the inertia of “how things have always been done”. By staying close to our customers, we have been able to differentiate ourselves by building the right features at the right time. In particular, Lifestores started as a retail pharmacy chain, and continues to operate a small group of retail pharmacies in Lagos; this has enabled us to gather cutting-edge information on what matters to pharmacists and their patients.
What is your long-term strategy?
We aim to build a comprehensive digital-first platform that acts as the operating system of pharmacies and HCPs, enabling and supplying their most important requirements. We see procurement support as a first step to supporting HCPs achieve their full potential – including future B2B2C opportunities to better serve patients and generate sustainable revenue.
Are there any lessons you would share with another entrepreneur who is considering embarking on a similar journey?
Start with a problem you're passionate or knowledgeable about. Build a good team around you, including co-founders who share a similar vision and values. Try to build a prototype or acquire some real-world market feedback on your product before starting to fundraise.
The majority of your career has been in leading consulting firms, mostly abroad. Would you say that experience prepared you for becoming an entrepreneur on the continent? What are some of the skills you would say are transferable?
Working in established blue-chip companies, such as elite consulting firms, is a great way to start a career because it teaches you what high standards look like. Often the problems you solve in the startup world are unique because you are building something that doesn’t already exist – however passion for excellence and the ability to recognize high standards are invaluable traits you can pick up earlier in your career.
You have founded a few ventures over the years. What are some lessons that stand out in your entrepreneurship journey?
In my experience, the most important thing is finding and working with great people. People who share your values and mission, and foster a high-trust environment. The startup journey is highly unpredictable and comes with many high-stress moments; just like it’s beneficial to be raised in a stable & healthy family, it makes a huge difference to surround yourself with the right team to manage the ups and downs.
If you were to go back to the beginning of your entrepreneurship journey, what advice would you give yourself?
Stay healthy. Stay hungry. Enjoy the journey!
