By Chidi Iketuonye
Obi Egbuonye, a Pharmacist by education and training is currently bringing remarkable innovation to the market place. He has been able to translate his clinical mind into that of a salesman concerned with the need to take available products to where they are most needed by consumers. It has been said that success is a transferred value and this holds true with Obi Egbuonye. From working as a sales representative in one of the biggest pharmaceutical concerns around, to consulting for HMOs, right across to the oil and gas business, he has consistently given good account of himself; striving towards excellence, service delivery, and innovation.
Having graduated with distinction from University of Nigeria, he went on to work for Glaxo Smith-Kline, iaemerging for a period, as the sar representative for the company in Nigeria. With an innate intellectual thrust, perhaps inherited from scholarly parents, he moved across sectors from medical to oil and gas, seeking out solutions in the market place that finally led to a discovery of a niche in market arrangements; specifically the way to create a link between the burden of products with a short expiry period and the effective demand of low income earners. That is at the heart of his company, Nearexpiry Limited.
We were glad to interview this soft spoken but audible entrepreneur with promising ideas well on their way into execution.
Q: So tell us more about yourself?
A: my name is Obi Egbuonye, I was born in February, 1977, I will soon be forty two. I am from Obosi, born to teachers. My Dad taught Mathematics while my mum taught English language. I went to secondary school in Onitsha and then university in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I graduated from Pharmacy with a distinction in sterile technology between 2001 and 2002. Afterwards I went to Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital for my internship. I went for youth service in Bauchi State, and my primary assignment was at Federal Medical Centre, Azari. I started my career at Glasko Smith Kline, GSK in Lagos. I worked there between 2004 2008, as sales representative and key accounts manager. It was a good experience. I was a star representative and received an award as best representative GSK, Nigeria. I was also able represent the company in the United kingdom once . I went on to work in Conoil, as a salesman in charge of AGO, until in 2012 when I returned back to the health sector. I worked for an HMO then until 2016 when I left to set up a community pharmacy, New Neighbourhood Pharmacy, though I still consulted for HMOs .
Q: How did you arrive at this innovation that informs nearexpiry limited?
A: While in the pharmacy business, I observed the way drugs came to expire before any patient requested that drug. There is software that notifies one on expiry of drugs but that still did not provide a demand for that drug. So the drug would just expire on the shelf. On one occasion, we had the unsettling experience of having drugs worth so much expiring on us, despite the tough economic environment. While contemplating the situation, a fellow Pharmacist visited me and saw them dumped in my office, he exclaimed that he had been looking for those drugs a while ago. He also said he had some other brands that had expired on him and it turned out I had actually needed those drugs a while back too. It then struck me that we Pharmacists existed in isolation from each other without adequate information. I saw the need to connect the person with drugs about to expire and the person who needed urgently and would be relieved to pay a lesser price.
Q: Were you the only one on board this move to innovate?
A: The idea was mine originally, but I needed to collaborate with others to facilitate a further exchange of ideas. We had to bring on board my brother who was a software engineer as adirector and consultant; a doctor friend, Ifeanyi Uzodike to oversee our eastern operations; the consultant who developed the app for further research and development; and another partner based abroad to help with the marketing.
Q: Why did you leave your comfortable job?
A: People say it is dangerous to venture out on one’s own. It is challenging. But while I was working in Conoil I had an encounter while travelling in the US. I saw a sign in an airport that said, “there are no small jobs, only small minds”. So I considered going back to the medical sector even though I was earning more from Conoil. But I had greater fulfillment in working with the HMOs. Also it struck me that people were willing to work for another for forty years but do not have the patience to build their own business for ten years. So I decided to build mine. It has not been easy but we are past looking back now. We are only looking ahead to greater things.
Q: What is the feedback you are getting from consumers?
A: We launched in December at a busy time when major outlets were focused on the holiday rush and so could not be bothered with near expiry items. However we have about ninety five vendors already subscribed on the app, including a lot of downloads. We are also working to make the app available on apple devices and not just on androids.
Q: You have apparently moved beyond pharmaceutical products?
A: Yes we started with drugs. Expired drugs raised my awareness to the opportunities but while surveying the market, I found that it is not just drugs, but other consumer items like beverages also get to expire on the shelf. Yet the rate of hunger in the land is amazing. It is said that seven out of ten people sleep hungry in some places. Now imagine a scenario where one can get a packet of milk for less than half the price just before it expires. One can get more within the safe period and also those who could not afford the initial price would be glad to. So the aim is to help the challenged who cannot afford these commodities and also to cut down on the loss to shopkeepers.
Q: What opportunities do you see ahead?
A: There are opportunities in other African countries where there is still a lot of hunger. So while we are focusing in Nigeria now, we would be moving to other African countries later. We are also looking at the establishment of physical outlets for these products. When people suggest that we should add delivery cost to the products, I disagree because the aim is to make the products affordable to those of low income. So that’s why we want to set up physical outlets and we have already secured some commitments from major brands that want to supply their near expiry products at reduced prices. However we are taking it in stages, starting with the app and then later we go on to physical outlets. We would also give out franchises to different location.
Q: Are you married?
A: Yes I am married to Mrs. Oluchi Egbuonye and we are blessed with four beautiful girls, named, Chisimdi, Chikamara, Olivia, and Ivy.
Q: any Hobbies?
A: I enjoy hanging out with friends and traveling.
Q: Would you consider yourself a Pharmacist or a salesman?
A: I would consider myself more of a salesman though most Pharmacists are trained as salesmen. You would notice that a lot of people who moved from core professions to other fields and did well were Pharmacists. I also enjoy practicing as a Pharmacist. But there must be a way of merging both competencies, a way of taking your products effectively from the place of supply to where they are presently needed. That is what nearexpiry Limited is about.