Home The Entrepreneur Meet Ola Brown, founder of the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Group

Meet Ola Brown, founder of the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Group

by Ikenna Ngere

Olamide Brown is a British-Nigerian Medical Doctor, healthcare entrepreneur and founder of the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Group and a director of Greentree Investment Company.

What is the purpose of Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Group?

The Flying Doctors Healthcare Group works in the areas of air ambulance services, consulting and healthcare technology, building hospitals and clinics, diagnostics and equipment, managing healthcare facilities, and retailing medications.

Ola Brown’s Education

Brown was born on 1986 in London, England. Hull York Medical School was where she studied. After earning her degree, she practiced acute medicine in the UK before receiving a Japanese MEXT scholarship, which enabled her to continue her education in Tokyo with a fellowship that specialized in lab-based research using induced pluripotent stem cells. She has a certificate in economic policymaking from the IE Business School in Spain and is pursuing a master’s degree in finance and economic policy at the University of London. She also holds a certificate in decision-making accounting from the University of Michigan in the US.

Ola Brown’s Career

Medical Career

Brown spent a brief time working for the UK’s National Health Service after graduating. She has a background in aviation medicine. She served as the CEO and boss of Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd., Lagos, Nigeria’s first air-operated emergency medical service.

Brown belongs to the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the World Economic Forum named her one of the 2013 Young Global Leaders.

Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment

After losing her sister in tough circumstances and wanting to enhance medical care in Nigeria, Brown founded the Flying Doctors in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2007.

The family of deceased patient Nabil Hanga filed a negligence claim against Flying Doctors and Brown in 2018. The family later withdrew this claim. According to Flying Doctors, Brown is a strategist, marketer, and investor.

 Greentree Investment Company

In addition to her work at Flying Doctors, Brown, Olabode Agusto, and Abasiama Idaresit manage Greentree Investment Company, an early-stage venture capital firm that finances African technology start-ups.  Paystack, Precurio, Big Cabal Media, and a $80 million portfolio are some of the investments.

She established the air ambulance & logistics company The Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company in 2019. It works in pharmaceutical retail, diagnostics and equipment, hospital and clinic construction, consulting, healthcare technology, and management of healthcare facilities. It collaborates with Helium Health, a biotechnology company that manufactures pharmaceuticals, Koniku, a chain of pharmacies, a diagnostic business, and a full-scale logistics company that transports goods, including pharmaceuticals, across West Africa.

A COVID-19 mobile testing booth was introduced by Brown and her FDHIC team at the height of the COVID-19 epidemic in Nigeria. This booth eliminates the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) by creating a barrier between the patient and any potential carriers.

Otunba Adebayo in the inaugural episode of “The Conversation” with the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company in July 2020, Brown hosted Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment. Discussions focused on investment growth and potential in the healthcare sector.

Ola Brown’s Appearances and Publications

Brown has delivered speeches on several stages throughout the world, including the TED Global Conference, the World Economic Forum, the European Union, the Swiss Economic Forum, the UN, the World Bank, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge University, and the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Several media outlets have featured Brown and her work. Brown has written three publications, including Fixing Healthcare in Nigeria: A Guide to Public Healthcare Policy, Pre-Hospital Care for Africa, and EMQ’s in Pediatrics. She is also an editor of the International Journal of Emergency Services. She has published articles in the Niger Delta Medical Journal, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, and the British Medical Journal.

Awards and Recognitions

President Muhammadu Buhari awarded Brown the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), which is a national honor. She has other reputable recognitions and awards like; World Economic Forum (WEF) Young Global Leader, Forbes 20 Young Power Women In Africa 2013, Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 for 2015, YWomen – YNaija 100 Most Influential Women in Nigeria 2015, the youngest person ever to win the Silverbird Group Extraordinary Business Achievement Award, 2018 in Lagos, and YNaija Business Power List 2020.

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