Dr. Ola Orekunrin, and
her Flying Doctors is a success story, about a young lady's sheer creativity
and entrepreneurial spirit. She is really and inspiration to a whole
lot of Nigerian youths and business people out there that one can actually create
wealth against all odds.
She became medical
doctor at the age of 21 but yet with the brightest of futures ahead of her in
the UK, she abandoned a high-flying job, packed her things and came back to
Nigeria where she founded Flying Doctors Nigeria,West Africa’s first air
ambulance.
In this
article-interview, she kindly takes us to a ride through her journey to
entrepreneurship and opens up about her ambition to change the face of
healthcare system in Nigeria.
Dr.
Ola Orekunrin’s story starts far from Nigeria “I was born and grew up in the UK and
studied medicine and surgery at the University of York after which I worked in
Acute Medicine across the UK. I then went on to be awarded the Japanese MEXT
scholarship which allowed me to further my studies in Tokyo, Japan.”
She was the youngest
doctor in UK at the time she graduated, she flies helicopters, she saves lives,
she speaks Japanese...Though when asked about herself, she keeps it real, “I'm a medical doctor, a trainee
helicopter pilot and an entrepreneur. I’m passionate about healthcare in Africa
and works with various foundations, charities and governments to improve
standards of healthcare nation-wide. “
Her
organization, Flying Doctor’s Nigeria is West Africa’s first indigenous air
ambulance service. It saves hundreds of lives across the region every year and
despite the high costs of aviation business, Flying Doctors Nigeria manages to
keep their prices down.
Flying Doctors Nigeria is a 100% Nigerian air ambulance service
provider offering national and international evacuation services.
They have both fixed and rotary wing aircrafts that are
strategically located in four (4) major Nigerian airports i.e. Lagos,Abuja,
Warri and Port-Harcourt as well as qualified doctors, trained and certified in
aviation medicine.
The company has licensed landing facilities at all major
Nigerian hospitals, mostly in Lagos and has the accreditation of the Society
for Underwater Technology (SUT), as well as the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA).
In addition, Flying Doctors Nigeria also offers a variety of
solutions for remote site locations like they are currently doing for some of
their clients in the oil and gas sector with such needs. They also provide
health and safety audits services, clinic procurement, clinic staffing,
telemedicine (eMed), first aid training as well as medical evacuation.
As often in
entrepreneurship, the motivation behind Dr. Ola’s decision to create
Flying Doctors Nigeria comes from a personal experience. Sadly, it was
a tragedy for her and her family.
“My younger sister was
very sick and needed air ambulance service. We searched but there was no such
service provider in Nigeria and West Africa. The one we found is 6 hours away
from Nigeria. We paid but by the time the air ambulance arrived, my sister was
dead. That was a wake-up call for me.”
To realize her dreams,
the young woman has to make some big sacrifices. As she confessed in an interview withPunch
Nigeria, "I quit my job, said goodbye to my political
aspirations for president of the British Medical Association and Minister for
the conservative party, I sold my car and my house, and bought my one way
ticket to Lagos."
When asked about that
decision to leave everything behind, she says “I didn't feel the discomfort of that decision too much
because I was motivated by the fact that I wanted to start a business which not
everybody is willing or born to do. Though I felt I wanted those things but
commitment to my country and adding a great meaning to life pushed me ahead.”
From outside, one may
think the young achiever has never come face-to-face with failure in her life.
However, Dr. Ola Orekunrin admitted in an interview "I
was rejected more times than I can remember."
On how she handled
those rebuffs, she explains “I was
frustrated at the beginning because all those were hard and also the lack of cash.
I was going to England working and returning to spend my earnings on and off
until I met a man who asked me what I do and I told him. I didn't hear from him
for a while until one night at 3a.m he called that his son was sick and needed
air ambulance. I did the job and discovered that he was married to an
influential woman in Nigeria. They began introducing me to people. “
About the secret of
Flying Doctors Nigeria’s success, she says, “I will just say I was surrounded by people who were
willing to work despite not much on ground.”
Despite the
challenges, Dr. Ola Orekunrin is determined to improve the healthcare system in
her country. Looking ahead, she plans to expand her organization to more
countries and people in Africa.
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