Sustainable healthcare requires value creation, entrepreneurial thinking – Ohuabunwa

Former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, has said Nigeria’s healthcare sector can only achieve long-term sustainability if practitioners embrace value creation and an entrepreneurial mindset in service delivery.

Ohuabunwa asserted that the 2026 AfriHealth Expo, held recently in Lagos, had the theme: “Healthcare Entrepreneur and Mentorship: Guiding the Next Generation of Health Innovators.” He said he looked forward to seeing healthcare enterprises become profitable and sustainable.

He noted that the time had come for healthcare professionals to move beyond the traditional perception of healthcare as purely a social service, arguing that the sector’s sustainability now depends on innovation, business thinking, and value addition.

“I believe that the purpose of this exhibition, first, is to create awareness of our products and services. The second is to create buy-in and get people to decide to buy our products or services, either now or later,” he said.

According to him, one of the major challenges in the healthcare sector is practitioners’ failure to recognise the business dimension of their profession.

“One of the challenges we have in healthcare is that we do not see healthcare as a business. Very often, it is seen only as a service, and we are losing our professional skills,” he said.

Ohuabunwa noted that although healthcare had historically been treated as a social service, changing global realities have made entrepreneurship an essential component of professional practice.

“Healthcare, education and other services that were once regarded as social services have become businesses. Every profession now has a business component because that is what creates sustainability,” he stated.

He warned that dependence on unpredictable public funding systems weakens service delivery and constrains growth in the sector.

“Public service is dependent on unpredictable income. But businesses are supposed to be more predictable,” he said.

The former PSN president therefore advocated a shift from traditional professional practice to what he described as professional entrepreneurship, where healthcare providers combine expertise with business strategy to ensure continuity and improved service delivery.

He explained that entrepreneurship is fundamentally about identifying and solving problems, meeting needs and creating value.

“Entrepreneurship is simply a mindset that is constantly asking three questions: Is there a problem to be solved? Is there a need to be met? Is there value to be created?” he said.

Ohuabunwa added that once these questions are properly addressed, value exchange and economic returns naturally follow.

“If you solve a problem, are you likely to get a return for that effort? Yes. If somebody has a need and you can provide it, can there be an exchange of value? Yes,” he said.

He illustrated value creation with practical examples, noting that transforming raw materials into finished goods increases their worth and market value.

“When you sell a tree standing in the forest, it has little or no value. But when you cut it, process it and turn it into furniture, you have added value. That is entrepreneurship,” he explained.

Ohuabunwa further stressed that branding and competitiveness in healthcare should be driven by the ability to solve problems better than existing alternatives.

“Branding does not start with packaging. It starts with what you have and the value you bring. If your product solves a problem differently, that is what makes it a brand,” he said.

He encouraged healthcare entrepreneurs to think long-term and develop clear visions for their businesses, noting that sustainability requires deliberate planning.

“Your vision determines the effort you put behind it. If you want to be number one in 10 years, that vision determines what you do today,” he said.

Ohuabunwa also underscored the importance of planning, financial discipline and strategic partnerships in building sustainable ventures. He explained that proper business planning, including cash flow and profit-and-loss projections, helps attract investment and supports long-term growth.

“You need a business plan. You need to show cash flow and profit and loss. That is what you present to investors or banks to fund your business,” he said.

Highlighting the importance of collaboration, he noted that partnerships strengthen credibility and improve access to funding.

“If I come alone to ask for investment, it is different from coming with partners. Partnership builds trust,” he said.

Concluding his remarks, Ohuabunwa outlined what he described as the “five Ps of business success” as a framework for sustainable enterprise. According to him, the first is purpose, which defines the reason for the business; the second is planning; while the third is perspiration, which represents hard work and smart work.

“The fourth is principle, which is ethics and values. Any business without ethics will fail. And the fifth is profit, because sustainability requires that your business must make returns,” he said.

He urged participants, especially young innovators in the health sector, to embrace these principles and adopt entrepreneurship as a pathway to building a resilient and sustainable healthcare system in Nigeria.