The entrepreneurial journey of Gregory Rockson, as the co-founder and CEO of mPharma, is inspiring. In 2013, Rockson, together with others, founded mPharma, a healthcare tech startup based in Ghana that manages pharmaceutical inventories for pharmacies throughout Africa.
The mission of mPharma is to make high-quality medicines more affordable and accessible in Sub-Saharan Africa. The platform now oversees a network of 400 pharmacies that annually serve millions of customers.
It is interesting to note that Rockson’s educational background is not in medicine. He graduated from Westminster College with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He was a Princeton University Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow (PPIA) and a Rotary Scholar at the University of Copenhagen.
Gregory stated that, although he had not completed a degree in medicine or pharmacy, he had begun his studies in both fields. “You must study some courses in high school in Ghana. I was a science student. In college, I was a pre-med student. As a pre-med student, I dropped out. So, while I’m no longer on the clinical side of healthcare, I’m still very interested in the business aspect” he stated.
mPharma
Gregory Rockson, together with Daniel Shoukimas and James Finucane, launched mPharma in 2013. The health-tech firm manages prescription drug inventories for pharmacies and their suppliers, and reports indicate that productivity has improved dramatically in countries where it has been adopted.
Over 400 partner pharmacies in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Rwanda, and Ethiopia currently serve over one million patients annually.
In emerging markets, mPharma is already a disruptor in the healthcare sector. The health tech company is establishing an infrastructure and a drug monitoring system that connects patients, hospitals, and pharmacies to cloud-based software, in addition to providing analytical data to drug firms and health ministries.
Doctors may see the exact location and availability of any medication they’re interested in in real time, and patients may have more consistent access to medications.
As the CEO of Mpharma, Gregory Rockson is creating the groundwork to establish the company as the premier e-prescription network in emerging economies, with Africa as the frontrunner. mPharma has received money to expand its operations into new and existing markets. Silicon Valley investor Jim Breyer is among the investors in the startup, which has received over $40 million in funding.
Two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Novartis and Pfizer, are already customers. Helena Foulkes, the former president of CVS, the nation’s largest pharmacy retailer, has been appointed to its board of directors.
mPharms’s Biggest Challenge So Far
Talent development has been mPharma’s largest problem thus far. The company’s main problem has been finding and developing the top healthcare talent. At the end of the day, the tech company’s success or failure will be determined by the caliber of its personnel. Gregory and his mPharma team aren’t alone in facing this difficulty.
Many African entrepreneurs have revealed their terrible experiences with talent procurement, retention, and development. The story of Africa’s transformation into becoming the world’s talent capital is often contradictory.
mPharma’s Lessons
The issues that Africa faces are similar across the continent. There are opportunities for corporate expansion across the continent. Scaling to other countries gets easier if you produce value in one of these countries that tackles one of these core challenges. Because, at the end of the day, you’re dealing with a major issue that people in other nations are grappling with.
Despite the fact that many African countries confront comparable difficulties, their people and cultures are different. Ghana’s culture is distinct from that of Nigeria, Kenya, and Zambia.
People respond to work in different ways, and their perspectives on mPharma vary as well. mPharma has come up with a novel solution to the problem of cultural differences. According to Rockson, there is a need to create a pan-African organization.
Gregory and his colleagues have created a unique workplace culture that encourages productivity by blending distinct African cultures.
