A Son's Promise
Hiya Espresso Lovers!
It’s time for an Espresso Short!
Today I am sharing with you the story of an exemplary social entrepreneur I have worked very closely with. Often, social entrepreneurs tackle social problems they have personal involvement with. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why they display levels of passion and determination that are not often seen otherwise.
This is one such story of passion and determination. The story of the promise a son made to his father.
Have a fun, restful, and rejuvenating weekend!
Until next time….
“Africa is our passion; Healthcare is our purpose!”
This is how healthcare entrepreneur Ngu Morcho, founder of Yako Medical Africa, signs off every email. It is not merely a signature, but a nod to his determination, a joyous reaffirmation that he has found a way to build his life at a place where his passion and purpose intersect.
The Early Seeds of Changemaking
Ngu was born in a middle-class family in Douala, Cameroon. As a young child, he saw his father work passionately towards providing children in the neighborhood access to education. Not only did he ensure that all his 5 children received quality education, he also sponsored the education of his extended family. For a man who could not complete secondary education because of limited means, he set up one of the first English-speaking primary schools in Douala with a belief that if all children in Cameroon get educated, it could change the country’s future.
I once asked Ngu about who he thinks has been the biggest influence on his decision to be a social entrepreneur. Pat came the reply.
“My father”.
The Road to Social Entrepreneurship
Growing up, Ngu saw many around him die because of lack of timely and proper medical treatment. He saw distraught family members helpless at the hand of unavailable medical help.
In the early 80s, Ngu lost his grandfather to complications from a combination of prostate disease and later a gangrenous injury that was poorly managed and left him with an amputated leg. But the biggest blow came when he lost his father in 2004 to prostate cancer. Early detection and treatment could have saved him, but the infrastructure just didn’t exist.
It was at that point Ngu made the bold decision to change the healthcare system in Africa. He didn’t know how, but he made a promise to his father to dedicate his life to this mission.
Focusing on his goal, Ngu decided to get an MBA in strategy and entrepreneurship. He worked at Pfizer to learn healthcare sales management and then at a healthcare-focused VC to gain insights into how to incubate and grow innovative healthcare solutions.
He took a role with GE Healthcare in Nigeria to focus on creating disruptive models to transform the African healthcare ecosystem.
The more he studied the African healthcare landscape, the more Ngu realized how grave the problem was. Over 80% of the population lacked proper access to affordable healthcare. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease were on the rise and were fast becoming Africa’s leading health burden.
It was a sad reminder to Ngu of how he had lost his father to a treatable chronic disease. Only because there was no access to healthcare.
He was helpless then, but not now. Now he was ready to right this wrong in the broken and uncoordinated health system in Cameroon and across Africa.
In 2016, Ngu resigned from GE and set up Yako Medical Africa with the objective of using technology to eliminate preventable deaths from chronic diseases.
But the ride to get Yako off the ground was not easy. Ngu found it nearly impossible to get others to understand his vision. Many a time he was told that his idea of creating an integrated care ecosystem to manage chronic diseases was too far-fetched. He lost count of the times he was told to “just focus on scanning patients with ECG”.
And if that wasn’t enough, COVID19 hit and Yako’s revenues dropped to a near zero. Ngu strongly contemplated shutting everything down and moving back to his wife and sons in the US. At least he could blame COVID.
But the promise he made to honor his father’s life would not let him shut Yako down. And so, he persevered.
A Changed World
Covid19 has changed the world. It is unfortunate that it took a pandemic of this proportion to expose the weaknesses of healthcare systems across Africa and the globe. But it has triggered a shift and created significant opportunities to transform healthcare systems.
Recognizing these transformational shifts, Ngu has pivoted Yako towards an enterprise software platform operating a subscription-based Direct Primary Care (DPC) model that connects patients with certified doctors. The platform has the potential for making comprehensive, affordable, and quality primary and specialty care accessible to all Africans.
It is a new beginning for Yako, and a long path ahead to its destination.
But the change has begun, and the journey continues.
In conversation with healthcare entrepreneur & Ashoka Fellow Ngu Morcho, Founder of Yako Medical Africa- a healthcare platform that focuses on improving access to affordable healthcare for all Africans. Ngu currently serves as Chairman at Yako. He is also the President & CEO of KeraLink International, a global foundation with the mission to develop impactful solutions that make treatment for corneal disease and blindness affordable and accessible to all people in need.
Talk about perseverance. No matter what adversity be faced, he didn't lose hope or sight of what he wanted to achieve for his father.
Such an inspiring story and journey!! Amazed at his level of determination and resilience.