Adesimbo Ukiri
HEALTHCARE…AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!
If I had to look back and tweak myself a little bit, I would make myself bolder but in also making myself bolder, be probably less trusting of people’s opinions of who I was or should be.
Adesimbo Ukiri is the Chief Executive Officer of Avon Healthcare Limited. An experienced professional, Simbo as she is fondly called, has over 20 years experience across a number of sectors including banking, telecommunications and health. She holds an LLB from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and is a Sloan Fellow of London Business School, where she obtained an MSc in Management. As a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings; the propriety investment company chaired by Mr. Tony Elumelu, Avon Healthcare came in to the industry three years ago and they have been positively impacting the health and lives of the average Nigerian. This is a welcome change for an industry that still has plenty of room for improvement and growth and Simbo is playing a pertinent role in bringing such reality to pass.
How does being the Managing Director/Chief Executive Office Avon Healthcare Limited feel?
It feels quite fulfilling but also extremely challenging. Fulfilling because it is a role in which I, together with my team, actually make a difference and save people’s lives on a daily basis; it is also a role in which what we do is having an impact on a larger scale, contributing to the transformation of our country’s healthcare system. It is challenging because there simply is so much to do...our healthcare system has deteriorated greatly over the years and it will take a lot for us to catch up. The hours in each day are never enough for the tasks we set ourselves!
Access to quality healthcare in Nigeria is a challenge. What is Avon doing to meet this challenge?
Financial access to healthcare is a real challenge, many people when they fall ill cannot afford the quality medical service they need. Nowadays, noncommunicable diseases with huge financial burdens have become more prevalent; not only are people battling with the normal Malaria, Typhoid, Diarrhea and common infections; kidney failures, cancer, stroke and cardiovascular diseases are now featuring in almost every family and at shockingly young ages! This is where we come in; at Avon HMO we have introduced affordable health plans for Individuals and families that everyone can subscribe to. Subscription to an Avon HMO plan means that whenever a covered ill health or accident occurs, the state of one’s finances won’t matter as Avon HMO foots the bill; ensuring and overseeing the delivery of quality healthcare service as needed. We also work with our members to pro-actively manage their health through regular screenings and a host of preventive initiatives. With accredited and monitored hospitals across all 36 states and Abuja, we bring quality healthcare nearer to everyone. We recently launched Avon HMO Online, a service that gives everyone the ability to buy and enroll on any of our health plans from their mobile phones and other devices. In four easy steps, anyone can subscribe online and receive a confirmation of coverage immediately by email or text within minutes.
How have you dealt with the pressure that comes with this position?
I think its work in progress ...but I do try. I like to take some evenings off at weekends and go to a spa and get a really nice massage and treat myself. I also treasure my quiet times on Sunday mornings before and after church just to be still, reconnect with God and be replenished. In recent times, I’ve realized the need to invest more time in my childhood friendships as well...they tend to keep one grounded. I am still working at it and hopefully I will get better at unwinding with friends and let keeping the pressure of work at bay.
How would you rate Health maintenance organizations (HMO) and the provision of health care services in Nigeria?
The sector has existed for over 12 years and it has not made the impact one would expect; coverage of Nigerians under any form of Health Insurance or prepaid scheme is less 4% of the population. Most of the HMO sector prior till now have heavily relied on the patronage of the federal civil service through the NHIS formal sector health plans and have not made much investment in expanding coverage to the average Nigerian on the street. Some HMOs have ventured out into the private sector but they restricted themselves to very large corporates and groups. At Avon HMO, we came in the industry three years ago and our focus has been on the average man on the street from the get go. We are presently over 98% private health plans driven. We want to impact the health and their lives of the average Nigerian and we are quite bullish about that. But we are all hoping things will change for the better. Legislation is required to make subscription to a health Insurance scheme compulsory in the country. Many HMOs are also beginning to wake up to the fact new policy direction at the regulatory level might mean that the NHIS federal civil servants population might not hold the same level of business attraction that is used to in previous years. We expect that in the coming years, there will be a real and concerted effort by most HMOs to go out there and offer services to the Nigerian public. On the issue of provision of healthcare services in Nigeria, availability and quality varies widely. You have hospitals that produce exceptionally good medical services; some are average and acceptable while some are poor. Some areas don’t even have functioning hospitals or healthcare facilities at all...just empty dilapidated buildings. Are we better than we were some 20- 30years ago? I think that everybody agrees that, compared to the 70s and 80s, we are worse off as a country, and there is a lot that needs to be done. Thankfully, it is an area of focus under the present administration and we should soon be seeing their plans come to fruition.
Are Nigerian’s really aware of these services being available to them?
Some portions of the country are aware that there are health insurance or health management services available to them, that they can join a health scheme and have their health needs taken care of but we don’t think that enough of Nigerians are aware. Most large companies are already subscribing to one health maintenance organization or another but most SMEs and individual Nigerians who work for themselves especially in the informal sector, are not very aware of the benefits that this service brings. I think it will be very effective for the sector as a whole to drive education and awareness across the country, working in conjunction with the regulator. At Avon HMO we are doing all we can and will continue to seek collaboration, as we really want people to know out there that these services are available, affordable and they save lives.
How is AVON Health Care Limited doing compared to its competitors?
I don’t want to blow our trumpet but I would say we’ve achieved quite a bit in the three years we’ve been in existence. Our focus is on the individual Nigerian and their families. In this sphere, I think we have gone way ahead of our competitors in making ourselves known and in making health plans affordable and accessible to the majority of Nigerians. We have health plans for individuals that cost as low as N15,000 per annum giving access to health care services that include specialist consultations, admissions and surgery. When we started, almost all leading HMOs did not offer Health plans to Individuals and families; we made that bold move and others joined. Now with our Avon HMO Online, which makes it possible for everyone to buy our plans via their mobile phones, we are poised to cover even more of the market.
What specific targets are you looking at in terms of market dominance?
You mean market segments? We believe that every Nigerian who is able to earn an income can and should subscribe to an Avon HMO health plan. Statistics give us an idea of how many Nigerians are on a mobile phone and how much is being spent on airtime on a monthly basis. There is a lot of disposable income out there but the right proportion of the average Nigerian’s disposable income is not going towards planning for their healthcare or looking after their health. This is what we would like to change. We want to be the consumer brand that all Nigerians love, relate with and rely on when it comes to their health. So we want total market dominance and not in any particular segment.
What makes your approach unique?
What stands us apart from our peers is our total commitment to ensuring that anyone who subscribes to our plans is able to live a healthier and fuller life. We are obsessive about service delivery and work with our hospitals in same manner to ensure they live up to our promises to our enrolled members. We are also obsessive about giving value that is best in market. Everything within our company has been built towards achieving these goals – the kind of people we hire, the systems and processes we have put in place and the advanced IT infrastructure we have invested in.
Do you have advice for investors looking to partner with you or explore deeper investments in the HMO industry?
The first advice is that you need patient capital. This industry is not going to give returns on investment in 2,3,5 years. In this industry you need deep pockets to make an impact and you need to be ready to invest for the long-term. It’s basically invest big and be patient. It will yield very exciting rewards in the next 10-15 years and upwards.
Looking back to your early days, what would you like to do differently?
I wish I had stood up for myself more as an individual, when I was younger. I wish had been bolder too and believed in myself more. Too often young women’s ambitions and dreams are downplayed by the people around them as being “too much”. Unfortunately sometimes we believe this. If I had to look back and tweak myself a little bit, I would make myself bolder but in also making myself bolder, be probably less trusting of people’s opinions of who I was or should be.
What is your advice to women striving to attain corporate leadership and women in business?
Don’t make the same mistake I did which is not to believe in yourself and your strength enough in the beginning. Believe in yourself, and that you can be anything that you set your mind to. Anybody who tells you otherwise, should not be believed; do not let them limit you. That is the first advice. In addition to that, I would say also build collaborative relationships as you progress and invest time and deliberate attention in your social network. I would also say marry wisely because the kind of spouse you have, the level of understanding and support that your husband bestows upon you goes a long way in determining how successful you will be in your career. From very early on, make it a topic for discussion, let your ambitions be clear, let what your goals are be clear to your husband and solicit, beg, plead, whatever you need to do, do it so you get his support from the beginning otherwise it will really be a challenge as you climb up the corporate ladder or begin to expand your business.
Many women have experienced setbacks in their climb to success in their various endeavours be it personal or professional. Some have been able to overcome them by finding a mental/emotional balance while others are still struggling very hard to do so. Do you feel women need more support channels where issues concerning their lives can be better dealt with professionally?
This is a topic on which I feel very passionate. Nigeria as a country, we don’t often recognize emotional wellbeing and mental health as areas that we need to pay attention to. We have to acknowledge that everyone has challenges at one point or the other in their lives – women as well as men. As a country, we simply don’t have any support infrastructure; we don’t have anything for people who are going through mental or emotional challenges to seek help from. And it’s really bad. This is a failing that our society needs to get beyond. So yes, women do need more support channels to cope with what life throws at them. Actually, so do men and children. There is a lot that we cope and deal with in our society and it would be helpful if there were structured institutions and channels that people could seek support and help from.
What extra steps do you feel women need to do to show more moral support towards each other in a world where most successful women incite petty jealousy instead of encouragement?
I think each one of us can take steps in our work and business environment to support other women and they can be practical steps. We can seek them out, understanding that they are going through the same type of challenges that we went through when we were at that level of career or business growth and share our learnings of what has worked. We can have both formal and informal networks for women, within the organizations we work in and also networks that are industry based. We should also stand up to discrimination against women when we are made aware of it and make the women in our world feel comfortable to reach out to us for professional and business advice.
You have teenage children. How do you cope with work and family pressures on your time?
Let’s not forget teenagers are quite opinionated...they are quite insistence on when and to what level they want you in their space; I tend to respect that most times. But balancing work and family pressures has to do with flexibility. As CEO, you don’t stop working. You carry your work in your head and your heart all the time. It is not a 9-5 where you do what is required and then switch off at the end of the working day. One can never really switch off as CEO; one can never switch off as mother either. The trick is in knowing when to give priority to each aspect of one’s life, keeping in mind the implication of the long term effects of not giving the required level of attention when it is needed. You also need to rely on a network of people who can step in for you. At work, you need able lieutenants because you can never do it alone; also at home you need trusted people - family and staff you can rely on from time to time.
How have you been able to instill a deep-rooted sense of the value of hard work into your children now that they are old enough to understand that good things don’t come easy?
That is a hard question because the world is so materialistic right now and children are being assailed everywhere they turn by gadgets and brands - it is a tough world for any parent. The Nigerian culture is very aspirational and from a very early age, children recognize brands and can be put under pressure by their peers to conform to social status expectations. What I try to do is to bring them up in a way that they know they are not defined by the material things that they own or are able to acquire but that they are defined by their character and their values. And also that their ability to use the work of their hands to generate income is what will determine the quality of life they will have in future. The standard of living that they are able to attain as adults is directly proportional to the grades they come out with in university and the kind of career they are able to build afterwards.
What does a good day mean to you?
A good day is when I can achieve at least 70% of what I set out to achieve in the morning, business wise, and I have been able to spend some time in quiet reflection with just myself and God; a day in which I haven’t eaten too much sweet food, rice, or other carbohydrates, but have eaten fruit and vegetables. Also a day in which I have had least one litre of water and I have had some moderate exercise, and I have laughed heartily and made other people laugh... that for me is a good day!
Beyond being a busy CEO at AVON, what are you passionate about? (36)
I am passionate about gender rights and equality and I’m passionate about domestic violence in all its forms - education and awareness and eradicating it. I am passionate about liberty and freedom as well, in a way that cuts across all genders. Maybe it’s the lawyer in me! People have a right to thrive, being who they want to be. So much time, energy and effort is wasted, relationships destroyed because we seek to make other people become what we would like them to be. My motto is celebrating people you meet in their own individuality and uniqueness .... God doesn’t make mistakes and he made us all. Celebrate each person as God created them to be. Accept, don’t judge them, and don’t try to panel beat them into your notion of whom they should be. Just let them be. Live and let live.