Innovation in Franchising: Advantage Health Africa (myPharmacy)

Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, but not every invention may be necessary. However, innovation, whether disruptive, radical or incremental in nature, inherently addresses pain points and helps to solve real problems. As such, innovation is a necessity for every organization looking to meet their customers’ needs in a sustainable way.

 In a recently concluded core MBA course (Global Business) at Nexford University , foreign direct investment (FDI) and the different market entry strategies that businesses planning to expand into new and/emerging markets can adopt were examined. Some of these strategies include exporting, licensing, franchising, wholly owned subsidiary, joint ventures and global strategic alliances. Ultimately, the type of strategy an organization chooses to adopt will often depend on a number of factors not limited to: internal factors (business lifecycle stage, level of brand control desired, financial capacity, manpower etc.) and external factors (political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal and environmental landscape of the new market/country).

While the concept of franchising is popularly associated with leveraging an existing brand name, business model and often connotes a certain level of control by the franchisor, one organization? Advantage Health Africa ? -is innovating the concept of franchising itself. Started in 2017, Advantage Health Africa is a health solution company harnessing technology, products and services to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of healthcare across Africa. The company’s CEO, Abimbola Adebakin, who is also a pharmacist, leads a team of healthcare, technology and finance professions that provide all-round support for pharmacies through an innovative franchising model called myPharmacy. 

Unlike any other franchising model, myPharmacy helps to optimize business operations for a chain of pharmacies across Nigeria without erasing their original brand names. As such, the pharmacists and pharmacies get all the support needed, ranging from inventory to financial management, without sacrificing the brand name they have built over the years. This however, does not come as a surprise given the organization’s core values among which are innovative approach and collaboration.

To learn more about Advantage Health Africa and its other innovative solutions, myLabs and myClinic, please visit https://advantagehealthafrica.com/