Okechukwu Ekemezie: Social entrepreneur addressing community issues
Many entrepreneurs are driven by a passion to solve societal problems. For Okechukwu Ekemezie, co-founder, Docotal Health Foundation, his driving force is to address rural poverty by providing free medical care to lowincome earners in rural communities.
Through Docotal Health Foundation, Okechukwu established a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for rural communities by undertaking humanitarian work regarding their wellbeing.
He was inspired to establish it in 2018 owing to the inability of people living in rural communities to easily access medical care.
“I was inspired to start my business to ensure that many people, especially those in the rural communities, have access to quality healthcare. Most of them could not because of high rate of poverty,” he says.
He says that his initial startup capital for the business was $500. According to him, the
money was spent on purchasing equipment and renting an office space for the business.
He was able to raise the money from his personal savings, friends, family members and spirited donors.
Since he started, the enterprise has expanded its operations as it has now created a mobile app for individuals to access free medical consultation.
It is leveraging technology to reach more individuals and communities as well as build an online network for free medical consultations.
The graduate of the Latin America Medical School, Havana, Cuba (ELAM), says the business currently has four full-time employees and between five and ten volunteers selected based on the project being executed.
He tells Start-up-digest that the NGO plans to scale up its operations to the international level and to infiltrate every hook and cranny in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. The business also plans to be in the same level as the international NGO, ‘Doctors without Borders’.
Okechukwu identifies inadequate medical supplies and funds as major challenges limiting the operations of the NGO.
“Our biggest challenge has been access to finance and medical supplies,” he says.
He urges the Federal Government to partner with NGOS involved in addressing community issues to ensure adequate impact on the society. He also calls on well-meaning Nigerians to support by donating to the less privileged in the society who can hardly afford medical expenses.
On his advice to other entrepreneurs, he says, “Start small, dream big, start now, and lead a tribe of like-minded visionaries.”