Healthcare is not luxury, it’s foundation of national development — Dr. Chigbu, CEO, Cassona Group

By Sola Ogundipe

When Dr. John Chigbu, Chairman/CEO of Cassona Healthcare Group, speaks astir healthcare, his words transportation urgency and conviction.

For him, healthcare is not a luxury. It is the instauration of nationalist development, and done Cassona Global Imaging Ltd., helium is moving to marque prime aesculapian instrumentality accessible and affordable crossed Africa.

“We came to West Africa for 1 crushed and 1 crushed only. Our extremity is elemental – to bring healthcare. We privation Africans to person entree to affordable equipment,” helium noted firmly astatine the motorboat of Cassona Healthcare Quarterly successful Lagos.

According to Chigbu, they had a extremity and a mission. “What was that mission? To supply affordable and, I mean that connection successful the truest sense, aesculapian imaging equipment. I mean instrumentality that works not occasionally, not sometimes, but each azygous day.

“Today, I’m blessed to denote that we person installed astir 140 aesculapian diagnostic imaging machines. We person fielded much than 300 work calls, each of which was responded to wrong 24 hours and resolved.”

In a continent wherever a CT scanner tin outgo up to $1,000,000, Chigbu saw an unsustainable system. Cassona’s exemplary disrupts that. “What we supply is instrumentality you tin get for $230,000 to $250,000, and we concern it. You wage 20 per cent upfront, and we let you to concern the remainder implicit 24 months.”

But there’s a twist to the bargain: Cassona takes afloat work for maintenance. “If the instrumentality fails, you can’t wage maine due to the fact that you’re not making money. So I marque definite the instrumentality works each azygous day,” Chigbu noted.

This simple, astir extremist exemplary guarantees that doctors tin trust connected machines that ne'er stop, patients get uninterrupted care, and providers don’t drown successful debt.

Chigbu rapidly discovered that Africa’s healthcare situation is not conscionable astir equipment, but astir capacity. Much of aesculapian acquisition is theoretical, leaving galore doctors and radiographers unprepared to usage modern machines.

To span the gap, Cassona delivers not conscionable machines, but real, applicable grooming that led to Cassona Edge Academy, a first-of-its-kind hub wherever healthcare workers tin update their skills and interact with cutting-edge technology.

“Most doctors starting retired cannot spend this equipment. With our centres, they tin absorption connected practicing medicine, and we grip the technology. Beyond that, the institution is gathering diagnostic and radiology ‘experience centers’ wherever doctors tin nonstop patients without needing to acquisition costly instrumentality themselves.”

Chigbu’s extremist spot successful doctors sets Cassona apart. “I judge successful doctors, they are expected to beryllium the astir liable professionals, due to the fact that they heal us. I’m comfy giving them recognition and financing, now, I’m moving to person the banks to spot it my way, that doctors merit spot and financing to get life-saving equipment.”

Over 90 percent of instrumentality income are connected credit—yet not a azygous supplier has defaulted. “If you walk that overmuch clip successful schoolhouse to go a doctor, that qualification is collateral enough,” helium says with conviction.

Banks whitethorn hesitate, but Chigbu insists doctors are among the astir liable professionals. “They heal us. They merit recognition and financing to get life-saving equipment.”

Cassona has besides entered infirmary development. In Ghana, the institution built a afloat operational infirmary successful conscionable 12 months—a process that often takes 3 years elsewhere. With implicit 140 diagnostic installations successful Ghana alone, Cassona has proven its conception earlier scaling into Nigeria, Africa’s biggest market.

“Our conception is not astir selling vanity machines. In Africa, we sometimes bargain instrumentality that looks awesome but isn’t practical. For example, CT scanners travel successful 16, 32, 64, each the mode to 516 slices. A doc whitethorn privation to bargain a 128-slice scanner, but for what they’re doing, a 16- oregon 32-slice scanner would service perfectly.

“So we don’t conscionable sell, we consult, we advise, and we assistance providers marque the close decision, and erstwhile we supply, we don’t disappear, we maintain, we support, we basal with you.

“So what bash we bring to Africa? Affordability, attraction and support, grooming for professionals including financing, truthful you don’t person to hold years to save, you tin get your instrumentality today.

“We haven’t ev...