While selling medicine for a Swiss pharmaceutical company in Sub Saharan Africa, Emmanuel Akpakwu experienced first-hand the challenges that manufacturers face, trying to penetrate this market.
The challenges, which included regulatory complexities, fragmented supply chains, high cost of capital, and challenges in procurement, prevented millions from accessing medicine that they really needed.
“Many pharmaceutical manufacturers were eager to expand into this market, not just to break new ground, but to drive meaningful progress in global health,” said Emmanuel in an interview with Powering SMEs.
However, due to market entry barriers, patients continued to be victims of unscrupulous market practices that saw them access identical medicines at higher costs than in wealthier geographies, such as Europe.
Unpredictable demand further complicated the delivery of quality medicine at scale, with governments and institutional buyers in Africa often struggling to secure sustainable access to quality medicines.
These institutions were often forced to choose lower-quality products due to cost constraints, resulting in poor health outcomes and increased healthcare costs.
“The inequity did not exist due to a lack of medical breakthroughs. The medicines existed. The expertise existed. What was missing was a system capable of delivering life-saving treatments to the people who needed them most,” explained Emmanuel.
To bridge these gaps, Emmanuel and his partners developed a digital platform known as Axmed that would link manufacturers with healthcare institutions.
By aggregating demand, the platform would enable buyers to source drugs directly from manufacturers at lower costs and move away from traditional pharmaceutical supply chains that have multiple levels of dealers and distributors.
“Digitising the supply chains would help to reduce wastage and accelerate delivery, as inefficiencies in traditional distribution models inflated costs and delayed access,” noted Akpakwu.
With funding from the Gates Foundation and venture backer Founderful, the platform would drive systemic change to improve access to essential medicines for underserved populations.
Reliable, tech-enabled distribution networks and crucial local partners ensure that medicines reach even the most remote and resource-constrained areas.
Photo credit: Pool
“A key aspect of this work, supported by Axmed’s strong partnership with the Gates Foundation, centres on maternal, newborn, and child health, aiming to reduce mortality rates in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Nigeria,” says Emmanuel.
Currently, Axmed is working with more than 60 organisations spanning the entire medicines delivery value chain to enhance access to medicines for under-served communities.
These include global, regional and local pharmaceutical manufacturers, governments, major buyers, a coalition of leading logistics companies, faith-based and non-governmental organisations.
“Through the Axmed platform, these organisations have frequently achieved over 25 per cent savings on pharmaceuticals and logistics, while gaining greater transparency and operational efficiency,” says the entrepreneur.
For suppliers, the platform streamlines the procurement process by enhancing transparency and reliability, ensuring medicines reach the communities that need them most.
Reliable, tech-enabled distribution networks and crucial local partners ensure that medicines reach even the most remote and resource-constrained areas.
“The platform is open to all qualified procurers and aggregates demand across healthcare providers, hospitals, and governments, creating purchasing power for buyers,” said Emmanuel.
According to the World Health Organisation, over 80 per cent of global population growth in the next decade will occur in low and middle-income countries—regions already carrying the heaviest disease burdens globally.
“These regions face extraordinary challenges but also present immense opportunities for healthcare transformation," added Emmanuel.
To enable players across the ecosystem benefit from these opportunities, Axmed recently launched the Axmed Access Summit, which brings together thought leaders from healthcare, technology, and policy sectors.
Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa with Axmed CEO Emmanuel Akpakwu during the launch of the Axmed Access Summit on February 6, 2025 in Nairobi.
Photo credit: Pool
“The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of global supply chains and the inequities in medicine access. It also revealed something critical: when mobilised, the global community can achieve extraordinary outcomes,” he noted.
The Axmed Access summit will encourage dialogue across the healthcare value chain, enabling participants to share insights, build alliances, and co-create solutions that deliver medicines sustainably and at scale.
Emmanuel believed that no technology can solve these challenges in isolation, that true transformation depends on partnerships and shared accountability. The summit, he explained, fosters collaboration and charts a clear path for collective impact.
While speaking during the launch, Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa, underscored the importance of family health, highlighting that maternal and newborn deaths represent some of the most profound challenges for families and the nation as a whole.
“Prioritising innovation across the healthcare value chain is critical to delivering medicines and care at scale. We strongly believe that innovation can empower our country to serve more patients with greater efficiency and impact,” remarked Dr Barasa.
Axmed CEO challenged the government to implement policies that will enable faster access and collaboration with manufacturers, the aim to improve medicine access to the underprivileged.
He also called on pharmaceutical manufacturers, NGOs and multilateral agencies to simplify access to medicine, support scalable delivery and advocate for systems that integrate digital innovation, enhance transparency and efficiency.
“If all stakeholders can unite around a shared goal, we can build a system that benefits everyone, most importantly, the patients who have been under-served for far too long,” stated Emmanuel.
