Experts Task KING Zone ACPN on Innovation, Risk Strategy at Business Summit
Eminent scholars in the business and healthcare world, including Prof. Ezekiel Oseni, President and Chairman of the Council, Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria; Dr. Elijah Mohammed, former Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN); Pharm. (Mrs) Kemi Adeyeye, CEO, Boluke Pharmacy; and Pharm. (Dr) Chris Ehimen, Managing Director, Nett Pharmacy, have urged community pharmacists to embrace innovation, strategic business thinking, and effective risk management to navigate Nigeria’s increasingly chaotic economic terrain.
The call came at the 2025 Professional Business Summit, organised by the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), King Zone, Lagos State. Held at De Orange Place and Event Centre, Oko Oba, Lagos, the well-attended summit had as its theme: “Pharmacy Practice and Business Survival in a Turbulent and Chaotic Environment.”
The event attracted leading voices in pharmacy practice, business strategy, and healthcare policy, who dissected the complex challenges currently confronting pharmacy operators, ranging from forex instability and inflation to unstable supply chains and weakened consumer purchasing power. In response, they proposed innovative pathways and structural reforms for pharmacy sustainability and business growth.
In his keynote address, Prof. Oseni observed that the prevailing economic headwinds, though daunting, are not the core reason many community pharmacies struggle. He pointed instead to weak internal systems, poor financial literacy, and operational inefficiencies as root causes.
“You cannot grow what you don’t measure,” he asserted. “Inflation is not your only problem—inefficiency is. Your overhead is eating your margins. The market is hostile, yes, but many of the bleeding points are internal. You must operate like a business that wants to grow.”
He challenged pharmacists to embrace cost-efficiency, adopt digital inventory systems, track staff performance, and move from reactive to proactive pricing strategies in order to survive and compete.
In a similar vein, Dr. Elijah Mohammed called for routine operational audits and forward-thinking leadership. He charged community pharmacists to critically assess their supply chains, team productivity, and patient engagement strategies.
“Community pharmacists must start asking the hard questions,” he said. “Is your team really productive? Is your product mix aligned with market needs? We must stop operating by routine and start thinking like forward-facing entrepreneurs.”
Pharm. Kemi Adeyeye, in her contribution, shared insights from her decades of experience running Boluke Pharmacy. She stressed that branding, trust-building, and excellent customer experience are now central to the success of any retail pharmacy.
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“People don’t just walk into pharmacies for drugs anymore. They are looking for empathy, for understanding, for trust,” she said. “Community pharmacists must learn to humanise their services. That’s how you build loyalty.”
For Pharm. (Dr) Chris Ehimen, data is the new currency in pharmacy operations. He showcased how Nett Pharmacy’s integration of software for pricing, inventory management, and customer loyalty tracking has enabled the chain to maintain competitiveness in a volatile economy.
“We don’t price based on guesswork,” he said. “We’ve built systems that calculate fair margins based on supplier data, inflation trends, and market realities. Pharmacy business must become smarter—your success should not depend on trial and error.”
Represented by the ACPN National Secretary, Pharm. (Mrs) Omokhafe Ashore, ACPN National Chairman Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh emphasised the importance of business intelligence in today’s pharmacy practice.
“Our survival as professionals depends on how well we run our businesses,” he declared. “No matter how sound your clinical knowledge is, if your business fails, your practice fails. It is time for pharmacists to start thinking like value creators and economic contributors.”
Also addressing the audience, Pharm. Anthony Bola Oyawole, a respected industry voice, cautioned against sacrificing professionalism for profit. He argued that innovation must be guided by regulatory compliance and ethical discipline.
“Every time we cut corners, we damage the trust the public has in us,” Oyawole warned. “Even in difficult times, we must uphold our professional ethics. Regulation is not an enemy of business; it is the framework that guarantees long-term survival.”
Earlier, Zonal Coordinator of ACPN King Zone, Pharm. (Mrs) Ayodele Ogunladei, welcomed participants and described the summit as a response to the harsh realities many community pharmacists are grappling with. She expressed confidence that the gathering would offer practical tools for repositioning pharmacy businesses.
“This summit was designed not just to highlight the challenges, but to provide working solutions. We want our members to leave here with renewed confidence, informed strategies, and a clear path forward,” she said.
Also speaking, Pharm. Paul Owolabi, chairman of the planning committee, said the theme of the summit was deliberately chosen to spark practical conversations and encourage adaptive leadership among pharmacy operators.
“We came here to share, learn, and take action,” he noted. “The ability to learn and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage for any professional or organisation.”
One of the attendees, Pharm. Jonah Okotie, a respected member of the Lagos ACPN, lauded the initiative, calling it timely and transformative. He urged other zones to replicate such business-centred engagements to instil the much-needed entrepreneurial mindset in community pharmacy practice.
