Estelle Dogbo Talks Healthtech in Africa & Women in the Professional Space

Estelle Dogbo’s path across various healthcare leadership positions started with her role at Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, where she led the implementation of intercontinental projects for cutting-edge products.  She then moved to Nigeria in 2012 to champion the expansion of the company’s reach across the regions of East and West Africa. 

 After her time at Sanofi, she held several leadership positions in marketing, sales and operations at Roche, another leading global pharmaceutical firm.

Her most recent experience was in her role as Country Manager and Vice-President Diagnostics at 54gene, Africa’s first genomics start-up. Here she successfully led the establishment, scaling the operations of the company amid the COVID-19 outbreak. She’s currently a consultant for Lead-it Africa in partnership with MTN Ghana on a health development program. 

Business Elites Africa caught up with Estelle to discuss her inspiration, gender balance in professional roles and the state of health technology in Africa.

What inspired you on your path to these executive positions in the healthcare industry? 

I have always had a strong belief that access to healthcare is a fundamental right that every individual, regardless of their age, race or gender, should be able to enjoy. This deep belief has been my north star in the course of my career. I have been deliberate about choosing opportunities that gets healthcare systems closer to offering the fairness and equality we all deserve. I was inspired by so many leaders in the industry who led their organisation to prioritize outcomes above profit and prestige, I try to apply and drive those values wherever I find myself in any leadership position. 

How well would you say Africa has leveraged health technology? 

The level of adoption of digital technologies in Africa is relatively high when compared to the rest of the world. This is obvious given the number of successful fintech and agrotech startups with real innovative and value-adding ideas that are emerging all around the continent.

Read the full story (on page 50) and more exclusives like this on our latest issue below.

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