The Founder Files Empowering Healthcare Providers Across Africa - Emilian Popa, Ilara Health
In this episode, we sit down with Emilian Popa, co-founder of Ilara Health, to explore how he's tackling one of Africa’s biggest challenges—access to quality healthcare. Emilian shares his journey of providing essential diagnostic tools, pharmaceuticals, and practice management software to small informal and formal clinics in Africa. We discuss the complexities of growing a healthcare business in fragmented markets, finding product-market fit across different aspects of the business, and how technology is reshaping healthcare in underserved regions. We dive into building a strong management team and trust in leadership and Emilian also opens up about his personal health journey and the drive behind his mission to create sustainable healthcare solutions. Enjoy the episode!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
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00:00 Introduction 04:20 Welcome 04:59 What is Ilara Health? 15:54 Executing on the vision 21:28 Shifting Core Business Priorities 26:14 Finding Product Market Fit 36:21 The scale of Ilara Health 39:07 More about the two different sides of the business 42:22 Having autonomy and prioritising non-work things 58:15 Founder-mode vs manager-mode 01:02:23 Developing a great, trustful team 01:11:50 Dealing with anxiety and the importance of looking after your health 01:31:03 What does the next 6 - 12 months look like for Emilian?