Temi Marcella Awogboro is an investment and operations executive with over 10 years of experience across origination, deal execution, portfolio management, fundraising in developed and growth markets. She currently serves as the Executive Director (Finance, Admin, Strategy) with Evercare Hospital Lekki, wholly owned by the Evercare Health Fund, a US$ 1 billion emerging markets healthcare fund managed by The Rise Fund, the impact investment platform of global alternative asset manager TPG Capital.
Temi’s prior experience spans a range of sectors including healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and information technology. She has extensive entrepreneurial experience and has been instrumental in building and cultivating disruptive, transformative institutions that will emerge initially as regional champions. Temi started her career at Goldman Sachs International, where she was selected as a GS Global Leaders Scholar and received the GS Global Leaders Award.
Temi has extensive board and committee experience with the Equality Fund Board of Directors, Evercare Hospital Lekki Founding Board Member, Save the Children UK Africa Advisory Board, and Alumni Ventures Group Spike Investment Fund. Temi is a Kauffman Venture Capital Fellow; an African Leadership Institute Tutu Fellow; and previously a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and Alumni Ambassador. She is the recipient of the Future Awards Africa Prize for Professional Service, M&A Advisor’s European Emerging Leaders Award and has been recognized as the Female Lead’s Top 20 Women under 20; and, Management Today and The Telegraph’s 35 Women Under 35 in the UK.
Temi holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and Master of Arts (MA) degree with First Class Honors in Economics from Christ’s College, the University of Cambridge, where she was a matriculation scholar.
Growing up and influence till date
I am proudly Nigerian with German and Scottish heritage; I was born in Nigeria and raised in the UK. My father was a doctor turned entrepreneur and my mother was a Miss Nigeria beauty queen, tech systems engineer and subsequently joined my father in building the family business. Growing up, I was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit, work ethic and tenacity of my parents and these influences are intricately woven into the individual and professional I am today.
From a young age, my parents and close family fondly nicknamed me ‘Small but mighty’ because within my pint-sized package, came mighty aspirations. As I reflect on it, the nickname spoke to the fearlessness with which I embraced life challenges, refusing to be bounded in any dimension from a young age and subsequently pushed me beyond the limits perceived in my mind or externally imposed.
10 years of experience across origination, deal execution, portfolio management, fundraising in developed and growth markets. How was that experience like?
I have more than a decade of experience in finance across developed and growth markets and have lived and worked across 4 continents. After graduating with an MA (Hons) in Economics, from the University of Cambridge, I started my career at Goldman Sachs International, London and subsequently went on to pursue an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business before launching my career in private equity.
My ethos in life is based on three p’s, purpose, passion and performance. I strive to live a life that is purpose driven, passion filled and performance oriented. This has led me through various unconventional paths but has made for a much richer professional experience. My investment experience spans early-stage venture capital to late-stage private equity across emerging markets and developed markets. In this journey, I have committed over half a billion dollars in capital to tackle pressing challenges on behalf of some of the world’s leading global investors across industries including healthcare, financial services, consumer and industrial sectors.
This varied experience has been instrumental and invaluable in my journey with Evercare. This journey has taken me across a host of milestones including: the fundraising drive to close the health fund in 2015; working collectively with cross-country teams of investors, advisors and clinical experts to conceptualize the vision for the health ecosystem; leading the origination and execution of strategic assets to actualize this vision; and working with all stakeholders to design, build and implement the teams, systems and processes required to launch Evercare in Nigeria.
In what way have you been building and cultivating disruptive, transformative institutions?
I have always believed in the power of private capital to transform lives and I am passionate about harnessing the potential of impact investment as a catalyst for equitable, inclusive growth that ultimately maximizes human well-being for all while delivering superior financial returns.
I have been privileged to live out this passion through my experience with the Evercare Health Fund from inception and through to my current role at Evercare Hospital Lekki. Evercare’s mission is to disrupt and transform traditional healthcare models through strategic investment and the hospital is poised to transform the healthcare landscape in Nigeria. Innovation is at the heart of Evercare’s operating model, improving patient experience, promoting better health outcomes, expanding access to care and enabling collaboration across the global platform.
I have also equally driven by my belief in the central role of technology in bridging the gap between emerging and developed nations. I have been uniquely positioned and privileged to operate at the intersection of healthcare, finance, technology and impact. I am deeply committed to investing in and building transformational companies that will emerge as today’s regional champions and tomorrow’s global challengers. This unique positioning gives me invaluable insights into companies disrupting traditional industries, and at the forefront of paradigm shifts.
Why was Evercare set up in Nigeria? What is it out to achieve? Why the strategic location?
Evercare Hospital Lekki is a 165-bed, purpose-built, multispecialty tertiary care hospital. The hospital offers care across a range of specialty medical and surgical services. Evercare Hospital Lekki is part of the Evercare Group, which is wholly owned by the Evercare Health Fund, a US $1bn emerging markets healthcare fund managed by The Rise Fund, the impact investment platform of global alternative asset manager TPG. The Evercare Health Fund is comprised of the world’s leading impact investors and global development finance institutions. Evercare Hospital Lekki benefits from the healthcare investing experience of TPG’s global team and the impact investing expertise of The Rise Fund.
The decision to enter the Nigerian market is in line with the Evercare Group’s core belief that access to quality healthcare is a fundamental right and demonstrates Evercare’s belief in the potential of the Nigerian market. Evercare has made a strategic investment to support Nigeria’s healthcare sector by providing quality, accessible, specialist health services. The goal is to create a long-term blueprint for the healthcare sector and support the advancement of medical care across Nigeria through first-class healthcare services. The key purpose behind this investment in Nigeria is to expand and accelerate positive societal impact – as improving the health of Nigerian citizens will positively impact the Nigerian economy.
What is it about health care in Nigeria that burdens your heart? Advice the people/govt
I have always believed access to quality healthcare is a fundamental human right. Whilst we have made significant headway over the last few years, there is still a need for significant advancement in Nigeria’s healthcare system to enable adequate provision of services required to serve the needs of its large population. Some of the key challenges that continue to plague the Nigerian healthcare sector today include: Insufficient funding at less than 5% of GDP, low health insurance penetration at less than 5%, poor infrastructure, and brain drain resulting in a dearth of qualified personnel. In order to address these issues, convergence of the public and private sector is key.
Much needed interventions include improving access to financing for the sector, restructuring the demand side through risk pooling and demand side aggregation, and enforcing robust quality standards to rebuild trust in healthcare.
What is your take on medical tourism in Nigeria? Is Evercare here to help change the narrative?
Nigeria is one of the top contributors to the global medical tourism spend estimated at US$1.0-1.5bn annually with an average of 30,000 patients travelling abroad annually for healthcare services. Nigerians are indeed yearning for quality healthcare with excellent clinical outcomes. Evercare seeks to alleviate some of the burden brought on by medical tourism with its world class infrastructure, innovative technology and skilled talent pool. Over time, Evercare seeks to reverse this trend by making Nigeria a destination for inbound medical tourism from across the West Africa region and beyond.
One of the factors contributing to Nigeria’s medical tourism is the brain drain. With over 40% physician migration, Nigeria is one of the leading African sources of foreign-born physicians. Evercare is focused on improving the operation of healthcare facilities that fill capacity gaps, meet the full spectrum of Nigerians’ medical needs, employ and retain local and critical talents and reduce the need to travel internationally for medical care. Evercare with its purpose-built infrastructure, best in class equipment, and focus on quality metrics that meet international standards is attracting critical medical talent back to Nigeria from the Diaspora, thereby reversing some of the brain drain that plagues the sector.
Read Also: US official, in PH, wants more leadership and governance roles for women
It is International Women’s Month, what is it that you will love women to know?
The election of Kamala Harris as the Vice President of the United States of America was a momentous occasion for me. In her victory speech, the Vice President urged young girls to “Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before.” This resonated profoundly with me as a woman who has often found herself in male-dominated rooms with few allies. What has kept me going over the years, is a deep sense of purpose, an unrelenting tenacity, and an unwavering belief in myself, especially in the face of being underestimated or told no.
My message to women everywhere this International Women’s Month is that you are powerful beyond measure and your voice matters. Do, do not feel less entitled, expect more, take up more space and demand more, be bold in challenging the status quo. Finally, teach your girls to embrace a world of possibilities, to be proud of their ambition, regardless of their gender, send them a clear message that they can be whoever they chose to be, and applaud them every step of the way. This IWD, I re-affirmed my commitment to continuing to challenge inequality, to subvert the status quo, and to mobilize capital to forge an inclusive world.
In what way are you involved in contributing your quota (Evercare) to ease the fatalities and challenges of COVID?
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the case for the much-needed evolution of our healthcare ecosystems on the African continent and illustrated the importance of technology in accessible and quality healthcare delivery.
The burden of COVID-19 accelerated the need for innovations to improve the way healthcare is delivered. Evercare was at the forefront of this, launching its “Ecare” telemedicine platform in 2020 to provide access to specialist doctors in the height of the pandemic. We strongly believe Nigeria and Africa more broadly has the potential to leapfrog other markets, delivering a more personalised and integrated healthcare experience to patients, enhance provider productivity, and improve outcomes and accessibility.
Furthermore, in response to the need for greater testing capacity, Evercare accelerated the completion of a standalone Laboratory with COVID-19 PCR testing capabilities in Ikeja. This lab will benefit from the extensive COVID-19 testing experience across Evercare group, which includes the largest diagnostic network in Pakistan with over 75 diagnostic centers, which established COVID-19 PCR testing facilities (including drive through sample collection for patient safety) across the country. Evercare also intends to play a strategic role in the future to support initiatives around the administering of COVID-19 vaccines.
Advice to everyone, especially those who do not believe or are living carefree
The health and wellbeing of our community remains a key priority. The COVID-19 pandemic is real. Please take precautions and ensure you follow the government guidelines. Everyone has a role to play, every symptom checked, every test booked, every mask worn counts in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 so please do your part for your fellow Nigerian citizens.
Personal and professional challenges
I have faced a host of personal and professional challenges: navigating my first job at the epicenter of the global financial crisis, encountering significant resistance trying to break into private equity, navigating the lonely path as a woman rising the ranks in male dominated industries and juggling the demands of being a present and invested mother to 2 toddlers, while managing my professional commitments.
In order to deal with these challenges, I have conditioned my mind to adopt a growth mindset, with this framing, challenges become exciting rather than threatening. As a matter of fact, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity for growth. This has been borne out in reality as the challenges I have faced have coincided with my greatest periods of personal growth.
I have trained myself to feel the fear, and do it anyway, to see challenges as the doors to success and perceived failure as an invaluable part of life’s journey. Failure for me, is an unavoidable part of living a limitless life. I continue on my journey not focused on pursuit of perfection but led by the voices of those who christened me ‘Small but mighty’. They challenge me to create and compete; to build and nurture; to take risks and leave my legacy.
Day never to be forgotten and why
The birth of my first daughter is forever ingrained in my memory. Within a manner of seconds we went from elation to terror as I realized she was not breathing the moment I held her. I remember very little from the time the hospital alarm went off and three doctors yanked her away, all I know is those minutes felt like a lifetime. This moment in time re-affirmed my conviction and commitment to transforming healthcare.
