Unloading oxygen tanks after a delivery.
Like just about everyone, Bernard Olayo watched with dismay as the coronavirus began to sweep across the globe last year. But he also sensed an opportunity. In 2014 he’d founded a company called Hewatele (“abundant air” in Swahili) to supply African hospitals with oxygen, and when the pandemic sent demand soaring he was able to quickly boost production.
His strategy of building small oxygen plants near hospitals differs from that of larger producers, which typically favor big, centralized facilities. Olayo says this “milkman model” has allowed him to undercut his competitors’ prices in a market where oxygen costs 10 times what it does in the U.K.
Hewatele has about 10% of the Kenyan market, serving about 250 hospitals. Olayo says he’s raised $4 million and is seeking at least $13.5 million to fund expansion; he hopes to build a liquid oxygen plant and start to export the gas to neighboring countries. Here are edited excerpts of our conversation.
What motivated you to get into this business?
When I worked as a doctor, I sometimes didn’t have enough oxygen for my surgery cases, particularly children with pneumonia. So I founded an organization called the Center for Public Health and Development to test some ideas I had. The first trials failed. We put very small oxygen plants in 14 health facilities across East Africa. After just 20 months, all of them had stopped working, as the hospitals had tried to repair the equipment themselves.
I realized that we needed to do it differently, so we came up with the milkman model, in which we build, own, and operate the plants. With adequate cylinders, a well-maintained plant, and a distribution truck or two, it’s possible to supply oxygen to all health facilities within a 100-kilometer radius.
What changed when the pandemic hit?
Pre-pandemic we were using 60% to 70% of production capacity, and many nights we didn’t need to run the plants. With the pandemic, demand doubled or tripled, so we pushed production around the clock. We doubled the number of plant operators and drivers. We leased additional trucks for distribution. We built oxygen manifolds outside Covid-19 wards so we could bring in cylinders.
Maintenance was a big challenge, because we couldn’t get parts due to the global lockdown. But our local artisans came up with solutions, and we had no major breakdowns. We would have liked to get more plants, but no one was selling them. We had three plants, and as lockdowns have eased we’ve started building three others, so our capacity will more than double.
Do you think your milkman strategy can work in other countries, too?
The model can be replicated across sub-Saharan Africa and globally. It works mostly for the developing world, where infrastructure is weak and health financing is not that good. Our goal is to get to 40% of the Kenyan market when we open our liquid plant, expected to come live in 2023.
This will produce 20 tons of oxygen a day, equivalent to at least 2,000 cylinders. But we’ll still use the milkman model: Rather than build plants at the hospitals, I’ll build tanks and compressors to fill cylinders and distribute them locally. With a liquid plant, Hewatele can lower the price of oxygen by half and still make a profit. We will be able to supply countrywide, and even export to Uganda and Tanzania.
What’s been the biggest hurdle you’ve encountered?
Getting people—investors, health-care workers, policymakers—to understand the value of oxygen. I found ways to communicate the importance. Covid-19 amplified it, though I still feel that there is a huge gap.
What lessons does your story offer other small-business owners?
Don’t go into something you’re not passionate about. I got Covid-19 in February. If I didn’t have a passion for this job, I would never have stepped back into a hospital. I’m quite sure I picked it up on one of my hospital visits.
Read next: How Microdrip Irrigation Systems Use Less Water and Could Change Farming Forever
buy tadalis cheap cialis pills for sale
where to get tadalafil tadalafil
tadalafil liquid where to order tadalafil tablets
tadalafil brands what is tadalafil
tadalafil drug where to buy cialis without prescription
where to get tadalafil tadalafil liquid
tadalafil cost walmart cheapest tadalafil cost
where to get tadalafil where to buy generic cialis online safely
tadalafil drug generic tadalafil from uk
tadalafil cost in canada cost of cialis
tadalafil dosage https://cialistrxy.com/
where to order tadalafil tablets generic tadalafil from uk
cialis cost https://cialisvet.com/
https://cialisusdc.com/ tadalafil side effects
https://cialiswbtc.com/ cialis without a prescription
buy generic cialis online with mastercard tadalafil without a doctor prescription
what is tadalafil https://cialistrxy.com/
tadalafil cialis buy tadalis
Pingback: ivermectin 3mg tablets for humans for sale
https://cialiswbtc.com/ what is tadalafil
tadalafil dosage generic cialis online fast shipping
Pingback: order ivermectin 6 mg online
Pingback: ivermectin 0.08 oral solution
tadalafil where to buy generic cialis online safely
Pingback: buy ivermectin for humans uk
https://cialistrxy.com/ generic cialis online fast shipping
cheap generic cialis for sale tadalafil
tadalafil liquid https://cialisusdc.com/
buy cialis pills tadalafil order online no prescription
which of the following is accurate regarding sildenafil (viagra)? try sildenafil
tadalafil online with out prescription where to buy generic cialis online safely
buy sildenafil 100mg online can you take sildenafil for erectile dysfunction?
generic tadalafil cvs aurobindo tadalafil
goodrx tadalafil tamsulosin vs. tadalafil
ivermectin 0.1 ivermectin over the counter canada
tadalafil cost walmart buy generic cialis online with mastercard
Pingback: buy tadalafil online
generic ivermectin for humans ivermectin 9 mg
generic viagra soft pills viagra price canada
https://cialisusdc.com/ tadalafil cost walmart
ivermectin topical generic stromectol
ivermectin uk coronavirus ivermectin 2mg
stromectol where can i buy oral ivermectin
oral ivermectin cost stromectol coronavirus
stromectol usa stromectol 3 mg
ivermectin 3mg tablets price cost of ivermectin cream
ivermectin buy australia stromectol tablet 3 mg
ivermectin 4000 ivermectin 0.5% brand name
ivermectin lotion price of ivermectin liquid
stromectol tablets ivermectin 0.1 uk
ivermectin oral solution cost of ivermectin medicine
stromectol sales stromectol medication
sildenafil half life viagra information
cost for ivermectin 3mg stromectol covid 19
ivermectin 3mg pill ivermectin 3mg dose
canadian tadalafil 20mg tadalafil from india
discount cialis cialis online pharmacy
when will tadalafil be generic pregnancy category for tadalafil
sildenafil walgreens price sildenafil citrate revatio
buy viagra on line viagra prices
planet pharmacy canada canadian pharmacy legit
maddison cialis generic date in descending order nogginim
cialis buy display posts from previous what is monthly cost of cialis at walmart – free
samples of cialis [url=http://walmart-pharm.net/#]walmart cialis prices[/url]
downloade cialis 20 mg 8 table username
original cialis discount generic cialis
citizens rx pharmacy quality prescription drugs
75 mg viagra generic viagra canada
canadian pharmacy tampa Trecator SC
cialis overnight pharmacy cialis 20 mg tablets
ivermectin half life ivermectin for budgies
female viagra for women viagra 30 mg
average dose of tadalafil indian tadalafil
ivermectin for heartworm ivermectin paste for ear mites in horses
recreditable canadian pharmacies canadian pharmacy price checker
sildenafil pharmacy nz how much is sildenafil
levitra fda approval prices levitra
prescription drugs delivery world pharmacy store reviews
cost of cialis without insurance pictures of penis on cialis
ingredient in cialis viagra / cialis
levitra effective time walmart pharmacy price levitra
cvs pharmacy update insurance online internet pharmacy manitoba
tadalafil canadian pharmacy watch tour de pharmacy online free
online pharmacy Female Cialis Soft
pharmacy schools in canada american rx pharmacy
are prescription drugs taxed vons pharmacy
canada discount drug marine pharmacy canada
Hi there, I discovered your blog via Google even as looking for a related topic, your web site came up, it appears good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
prescription cost comparison do canadian pharmacies accept us prescriptions
provigil canada modafinil 100mg usa modafinil brand
prescription without a doctor’s prescription pharmacy app store
viagra professional canadian pharmacy express pharmacy online
modafinil order online order modafinil 100mg pill oral modafinil 200mg
what Will Cialis Do For Men?
order provigil without prescription modafinil cost
how To Buy Generic Cialis Without A Doctor’s Prescription?
how Long Is Cialis Effective For?
how Can I Get Cialis Covered By Medicare/medi Cal?
modafinil oral buy generic modafinil
how Cialis Works In The Body?
stromectol price us ivermectin tablets for sale
stromectol pills ivermectin tablets for humans order ivermectin from india
stromectol 0.5 mg stromectol 12mg online
oriental stromectol when your not contagious anymore vandaag peut on achater du stromectol en ligne hydroxychloroquine drug interactions
– stromectol use on humans tracor supply [url=http://hydroxychloroquine-200.com/#]hydroxychloroquine over the counter walgreens[/url] cuff “stromectol online brighter tomorrow
cheap stromectol
buy ivermectin 6 mg http://www.ivermectinusd.com/
cheap ivermectin ivermectin 6 mg stromectol 3 mg tablet
Pingback: order stromectol 12mg for humans