In a nation beset by unemployment, it is vital to provide new work opportunities. Our collective future will remain unknown unless we work together to address the problem. And the significance of entrepreneurship to South Africa’s economic success cannot be overstated.

This article speaks to industry experts to find out how businesses can empower consumers and entrepreneurs.

Enable interoperability for consumers and businesses

Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa, believes that when it comes to Africa and financial empowerment, we must recognise that customers have the same wants and demands as consumers everywhere else in the globe.

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“For us at MFS Africa, that means connecting mobile money to the rest of the world. Card networks very much appear to be the best way of doing so. It’s something that we’ve been working on for some time too. In 2019, for example, we concluded an agreement with Visa to connect our MFS Africa HUB to the Visa Network to enable card issuing at scale. It was a slow burn, but with the recent acquisition of GPT, we’re in a prime position to accelerate interoperability,” says Okoudjou.

Empowering SMEs through the provision of finance for business growth

SMEs are a crucial source of development and of employment in Africa, yet they struggle to access finance for growth, especially from traditional funders, such as banks. And so, other types of funders have entered the market.  Private equity – in which the funder provides the money needed for growth and participates in the management of the business – is one such source. “This type of funding has become increasingly popular in the region,” says Bryan Turner, Partner at Spear Capital, a private equity firm that invests in businesses in the SADC region using funds from investors in Europe. Turner goes on to highlight this, quoting the figures for private equity investments in Africa during 2021, which achieved an all-time high of USD7.4 billion, double the previous year’s figure.

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Similarly, firms providing private credit are also being kept busy in the region. Norsad Capital, for example, has provided finance to about 150 companies in Africa, bringing in more than USD500 million in funds to businesses in Africa. As an impact investor, Norsad focuses on bringing societal benefits through the businesses it funds, thus empowering these local enterprises to become job creators and leaders in environmental sustainability in the region.

Provide the right platform at the right price

SMEs are powerful drivers of economic growth but they can also be very beneficial to the communities in which they operate. Not only do they create employment opportunities – in South Africa SMEs make up 98% of formal businesses and employ between 50 and 60% of the country’s workforce – they also help develop communities, says Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager, Zoho Corp.

Zoho has seen how having the right platform, at the right price, can empower small businesses to operate on par with larger companies that have access to wider resources. Low and no-code tools, for example, make it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs to build their own customer-facing applications. These platforms can easily be adapted as the business grows. “Community-based organisations that have access to the right technology will be more efficient, more organised and more effective,” says Bourne. “The long-term impact on the people living within these communities will be significant.”

Find a pain point – and solve it

Aisha Pandor, co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth, South Africa’s largest on-demand home cleaning service, believes that if you want to truly make a difference with your business, you need to find a pain point for your potential customer and solve it. “When you’ve done that, find the next one. You’ll soon make an impact,” she says.

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At SweepSouth impact means empowerment, which in turn means ensuring domestic workers earn higher than market rates and giving people the power to choose who they take work from, where, and at times that suit them via the platform. “As such, empowerment is also about connectivity, and technology is one of the most important enablers of connectivity. Through our platform we wanted to leverage that potential to ensure that domestic workers are able to connect with as many employment opportunities in the most convenient way possible,” Pandor says.

Empower entrepreneurs

Funding Black founders in Africa fuels generational and systemic change. The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund for Africa program reinforces Google’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and startups in the region as a vital prerequisite to driving employment and growth on the continent. The fund has just announced the second cohort made up of 60 of the most promising black-founded startups across Africa who will receive their share of $4 million in funding, as well as access to a  network of mentors to assist in tackling challenges that are unique to them.

“Africa is a diverse continent with massive opportunity but the continent is faced with the challenge of limited diversity in venture capital funding flow,” says Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem for Google in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Nigerian Healthtech Startup Remedial Health Secures $4.4-Million in Seed Funding 

Remedial Health, a healthtech startup that develops solutions to make Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain more efficient, has raised $4.4 million in seed funding.

With this latest investment, the company plans to accelerate its expansion across Nigeria and provide access to credit for inventory purchases for its growing customer base of neighbourhood pharmacies, Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and hospitals in the country.

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According to Samuel Okwuada, CEO and co-founder of Remedial Health, “The funds that we have raised and the strategic support from our investors will enable us to deliver the solutions to address various challenges that have hampered these businesses’ growth for many years, and make it easier to safeguard lives and livelihoods across the continent for years to come.”

The seed funding round was led by Global Ventures – a leading MEA venture capital firm, who re-invested after participating in the previous round. Tencent, Y Combinator, Cathexis Ventures, LightSpeed Venture Partners Scout Fund, Ventures Platform, Alumni Ventures and True Capital Management also participated in the round which included prominent angel investors such as Guillaume Luccisano and Christopher Golda.

Remedial Health provides a range of solutions, including its digital procurement and PMR (patient medication records) platforms that make it easier for neighbourhood pharmacies, PPMVs and hospitals to access affordable and authentic retail medicines. Healthcare providers can source vetted medications at prices the same, or better, than open-air medicine market prices – with 24-hour delivery to their practice via Remedial Health’s logistics network.

In addition to procurement, pharmacies and PPMVs can access credit to fund inventory purchases and provide loans and salary advances for employees.

Since January 2022, Remedial Health has seen a 600 per cent increase in sales volumes and the company now covers 16 of Nigeria’s 36 states. This new funding will support the rollout of its services across the rest of Nigeria, and also lay the groundwork for expansion across Africa in 2023.

The impact of various global events from the last three years – from the COVID-19 pandemic to rising inflation – has led to a sharp increase in the price of medicines in Nigeria.

For neighbourhood pharmacies and Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) that represent the main source of medicines for the majority of Nigerians, these price increases mean there is added pressure to balance the need to provide lifesaving medicines to their communities and the need to run their businesses effectively.

There is also the challenge of an opaque supply chain where manufacturers have limited or delayed visibility into what is happening on the frontlines, which means pharmacies and PPMVs are often left to make do with what they can get, rather than what they need. 

By leveraging Remedial Health’s tech-enabled platform, neighbourhood pharmacies, PPMVs and hospitals can benefit from group/bulk buying discounts, time-saving and improved efficiency, access to credit to improve their earnings, as well as additional revenue from providing financial services and other primary healthcare services.

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Manufacturers also benefit from an efficient supply chain, a clear and instant route-to-market for their products and real-time intelligence on product utilization to improve decision-making on forecasting, production and distribution.

“The team at Remedial Health is proactively addressing challenges including price opacity, poor drug quality control and a very fragmented supply chain, head on to create a tech-enabled, pharmacy-centred healthcare network that has allowed over 25% in cost reductions at the point of care,” said Sacha Haider, Principal at Global Ventures.

“We are excited to partner with Sam on his mission to improve access to quality and affordable healthcare in Africa through optimized pharmaceutical supply chains”.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry