In 10 years, the medicine supply chain in Africa will look very different than it does today. In Part 2 of this podcast, we examine four key trends which are going to re-shape the medicine supply chain in Africa over the next decade - and shout out to a few of the entrepreneurs that are leading the charge. From regulatory changes spearheaded by the African Union to biomedical innovation requiring new pathways to patient, the medicine market is both growing and changing in Africa. Our lineup includes:* Mila Nepomnyashchiy, Lead Advisor, Center for Innovation and Impact, USAID* Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain, The Global Fund* Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck* Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), Managing Partner at Celsian Consulting* Dr. Prashant Yadav, one of the world’s leading scholars on healthcare supply chains. Dr Yadav is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, Affiliate Professor at INSEAD and Lecturer at Harvard Medical SchoolListen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).In case you missed it, don't forget to check out Part 1 of this episode, where we trace the movement of a pack of medicines from a factory in India to the shelves of a mom-and-pop pharmacy in Zambia. Connect with Africa Health Ventures📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about what’s going on with healthcare ventures in Africa🪙 Nominate a startup for seed funding🤝 Invest with us👍 Follow us on LinkedIn🎙️ Subscribe to this podcastShow NotesPart 2 of The Medicine Supply Chain in Africa covers 3 segments:1. The Outsized Role of Global Donors(3m22s) - There’s a world of difference between the private sector medicine markets and the ones supported by billions of dollars of international donor funding. We hear from Mila Nepomnyashchiy of USAID about two different worlds: one for the medicines endorsed by global funding… and one for everything else. 2. Four Trends That Will Dramatically Change The Medicine Supply Chain in the Next 10 Years(5m45s) - Trend 1: Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), on regulatory changes from the African Union that will massively expand the size of the market.(9m44s) - Trend 2: Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck, on vertically integrated supply chains that will reduce costs and increase access to consumers.(13m28s) - Trend 3: Dr. Prashant Yadav of the Center for Global Development on omnichannel distribution that will meet patients where they live and work. (16m46s) - Trend 4: Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain at The Global Fund, on the golden age of biomedical innovation that will challenge our existing ideas of both ‘medicines’ and ‘supply chain’.3. Social Entrepreneurs Leading the Charge (20m31s) - Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights a handful of social enterprises that are leading the charge for change.Learn More* USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain Program is a US$9.5 billion program with support from PEPFAR. The follow-in contract may be as much as US$17 billion.* The Global Fund provides extensive support to countries in procuring low-cost, priority medicines. Every year it spends about US$2 billion to procure medicines for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.* The Africa Medical Supplies Platform is a pooled procurement mechanism spearheaded by the African Union* The African Medicines Agency seeks to create a common regulatory environment for medicines across Africa* The African Continental Free Trade Agreement could create the largest free trade area in the world* mPharma provides medicines to pharmacies, but does not require payment until those medicines are sold. This helps pharmacies to stock more medicines by de-risking the need for upfront cash.* Maisha Meds is providing forecasting, sourcing, and other technology support to small retail pharmacies in rural areas.* Kasha is bringing health products to women and girls at home, giving them the privacy they need while increasing their agency and choice. * Xetova supports the government in Kenya to use its health supply chain data to create insights on consumption, distribution, procurement spending, supplier and payment performance.* Pendulum Systems (formerly Macro-Eyes) is providing AI and machine learning tools to African governments to help them optimize their medicine supply chain.* How Local Innovation Can Drive the Global Development Agenda - This 2023 piece from Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the importance of new social entrepreneurs in addressing gaps in the private and public medicine supply chain.* Innovations in Digitizing Health Supply Chains in Africa - This 2023 market intelligence report from Salient Advisory highlights some of the key areas of the medicine supply chain where startups in Africa are most active. Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

What does it take to move a pack of medicines from a factory in India to the shelves of a mom-and-pop pharmacy in Zambia? In this episode, we explore the world of the medicine supply chain in Africa, as told by the people who run it. Along the way, we unpack the market dynamics which limit access to low-cost, essential medicines.Our lineup includes:* Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck* Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), Managing Partner at Celsian Consulting* Michael Moreland, CEO and Founder, Field Intelligence* Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain, The Global Fund* Mila Nepomnyashchiy, Lead Advisor, Center for Innovation and Impact, USAID* Dr. Prashant Yadav, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, Affiliate Professor at INSEAD and Lecturer at Harvard Medical SchoolListen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).Stay tuned for Part 2, when we look at the future trends which are going to dramatically change this supply chain and highlight a few of the new ventures which are leading the way.Connect with Africa Health Ventures📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about what’s going on with healthcare ventures in Africa🪙 Nominate a startup for seed funding🤝 Invest with us👍 Follow us on LinkedIn🎙️ Subscribe to this podcastIn this episode, we cover* (2m54) - Setting the stage: we introduce several of the key actors in the medicine supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the key role of Ministries of Health as well as the disruptive influence of social entrepreneurs. * (8m27s) - Yusuf Rasool of MSD/Merck describes the role of large pharmaceutical companies and why it is difficult for a large multinational to operate directly in 54 different African countries.* (10m57s) - Clinton De Souza digs into two of the structural problems in the medicines market which makes it difficult for distributors to deliver low-cost essential medicines. * (19m07s) - From the perspective of Five Star Pharmacy in Zambia, we look at the working capital gap which prevents small pharmacies from making the full range of medicines available to people.* (21m49s) - Michael Moreland of Field Intelligence describes the role of social entrepreneurs and embedded financing in allowing small pharmacies to increase product availability. * (29m17s) - Recap of the episode so far and teaser for Part 2Learn More* Health Product Supply Chains in Developing Countries - This 2015 paper from Dr. Prashant Yadav summarizes the key actors and common challenges of medicine supply chains in Sub-Saharan Africa.* How Local Innovation Can Drive the Global Development Agenda - This 2023 piece from Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the importance of new social entrepreneurs in addressing gaps in the private and public medicine supply chain.* Innovations in Digitizing Health Supply Chains in Africa - This 2023 market intelligence report from Salient Advisory highlights some of the key areas of the medicine supply chain where startups in Africa are most active. * How MSD/Merck is improving access to healthcare - This page highlights a few of the affordability solutions that MSD/Merck’s Access to Medicines team is working on around the world.* Imperial Logistics is one of the largest medicine distributors on the African continent.* Five Star Pharmcies is a chain of retail pharmacies in Zambia founded by Lloyd Matowe with the support of Clinton De Souza.* Field Intelligence is a social enterprise providing planning, fulfilment, and financing of pharmaceuticals to over 35,000 points of care in Nigeria and Kenya, including government clinics, retail pharmacies and drug shops, hospitals and telehealth providers. * Was the $9.5B health supply chain 'a waste of USAID's money'? - Earlier this month, Devex published a(nother) searing indictment of USAID’s global health supply chain program. The controversy surrounding this highly centralized, donor-funded program is one of the reasons why now is a good time to take a look at what’s working (and what’s not) in private sector medicine supply chains. In Part 2 of this episode, we’ll touch on a few of the differences and linkages between what we describe in Part 1 and certain donor-driven supply chains.Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Unlocking access to quality healthcare in Africa by 2030 will require radical innovations. Join veteran digital health / healthtech entrepreneur Rowena Luk in conversation with healthcare industry leaders and innovators every quarter to strategize on what the future of healthcare in Africa will look like. This podcast is for social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and global health professionals who need to stay ahead of the rapidly changing landscape of healthcare in Africa.Subscribe to our newsletter at AfricaHealthVentures.com/Subscribe Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Mike Quinn was co-founder and CEO of one Africa's earliest major financial technology (FinTech) companies, Zoona. He raised over 35 million dollars of international investment for this Zambian startup - before its heartbreaking crash and Mike's exit from the company. In the conversation today, Mike shares how this Canadian engineer found himself leading a Zambian mobile money company. He opens the door to the power and pressures of international financing, and the toll it takes on African entrepreneurs. In just a few years, Mike grew Zoona to a company that served millions of unbanked consumers in Zambia and Malawi. But that all changed when their Series C round of financing fell through at the last minute. This is a classic David vs. Goliath story. Mike and his co-founders were a group of young, ambitious techies who wanted to make life easier for millions of Zambians. To do this, this small company needed to go head-to-head with billion-dollar international phone companies. The craziest part? They almost won. All of this and more is covered in Mike's recently published tell-all book, Failing to Win, available around the world through Amazon (available in audio, paperback and kindle format) or in South Africa at Takealot and Exclusive Books. To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com  Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)