Mrs. Temie Giwa Tunbosun is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lifebank Group, which provides blood for hospitals especially in cases of emergencies. In this interview with Bukola Aroloye, she speaks on her vision for the company and her management style. Excerpts:
Can you tell us about yourself?
I’m 31 years old and a mother. I’m a Nigerian but was raised in the United States. I was born in Osun State where I grew up. I lived in Ilesa and Port Harcourt. My dad taught in the university and when I was about 14 years old, I left Nigeria for the US. Five years ago, I decided to come back home after working at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and all over the world. I felt I should come back home and have been here ever since with my son and husband.
The idea of a lifebank is really alien to us. What is the difference between your type of bank and the commercial banking system?
The commercial banks saves your money. When you go there, they keep your money for a while. Our type of bank keeps your life safe. We feel that life is valuable and every life is bankable in Africa and is worth saving. We make sure not a single person dies for what could have been prevented. The reason I started this company is very simple. Every year, about 26,000 Nigerian women die from hemorrhage meaning they have a baby after which they start bleeding. When hospitals cannot stop the bleeding, they eventually die. That is one of the highest causes of maternal mortality in Nigeria. Children who die from malaria don’t really die from the sickness, it’s the anemia from malaria that kills them. One of the sure ways to stop anemia from malaria is to transfuse and make sure the person can continue living and kill the virus.
Death from major surgery, kidney disease, people with sickle cell anemia are caused by lack of blood bank in Nigeria. So many people die because they couldn’t get access to oxygen. When children have anemia and needs oxygen but the hospitals doesn’t have, they die. So Lifebank is a medical provider that provides essential medical products required to save lives. Those essential medical products are blood, platelets, plasma, oxygen, vaccines. Those things need to be brought to the hospital faster. For us at Lifebank, that’s what we deliver. It is faster, cheaper and safer.
What has been the response from Nigerians to Lifebank?
If I hadn’t left Nigeria, I wouldn’t have started this because I would have believed that Nigerians would not support it. Nigerians are the most loving and ready to give out free. I have been surprised that people have responded to this business positively.
What has been government response?
It has been mixed. Some state governments are buying into it and want me to bring the business to their states. We have states like Osun and Oyo but there are some state governments who are not so keen. However we believe as we grow, more state governments would turn to us.
Where do you see Lifebank in the next five years?
Lifebank would be an amazing company. We are going to save many lives. We wish to be in every big city in Africa. We are going to be in Accra, Cairo, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Kigali and other cities.
How do you source for these bloods?
We have tech and servicing companies. We have suppliers who are basically bloodbanks whose jobs are to find people donating blood, test it and keep it safe pending the time someone will need it. We have 30 suppliers and we know where most of the bloods in Lagos are. We have logistics system where when hospitals discover blood on our platform, we go and pick the blood and deliver to them.
Can you tell us specifically what motivated you to start this kind of business?
When I was about 22 years old, I came back to Nigeria for the first time since I left and I was working in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa. My team and I were in a small village outside Kano and we found a young girl who had been in labour for three days. Everyone around her was just waiting for her to die because there was nothing they could do for her. So I had a very bad reaction to it and was depressed for weeks. I couldn’t leave my hotel room and cried. It was the first time for me to see the human cause of bad development. She was 24year old then. She lived but the baby had died inside her. I couldn’t stop thinking about her so after I left Nigeria, the situation really affected me. I had my child in the US though it was difficult as I almost died. I was so lucky to have access to health care so I decided I was going to use my life to help women.
You have been working with a team so tell us what has been your management style?
I have two ideas about management of people in Nigeria. There are some people who require you to be their friends and talk to them and there are those who want to be alone and deliver their objectives. My management style depends on the people I’m dealing with. Sometimes I’m serious, sometimes I’m funny. I try to be flexible. I don’t think managers should have one management style so you need to be flexible and adapt your management style to fit different people. I’m very free with them. I believe I can’t build a company alone and can’t even do 10 percent of what the company needs. There are people who will do the rest 90%. I see them as my co-founders because they help me build the company. I’m free in terms of comparing myself with other Nigerian bosses. My workers know how much we make and how much we pay out. This is because I want them to feel ownership of the company. They should see it as their company. I treat people with respect.
How do you motivate your staff?
We’re a young team and don’t have lots of money so I can’t use money to motivate them. I treat them with respect and very respectful of their time. I make sure they understand the vision of Lifebank. We’re not selling shoes and bags but what we do every day is safe people’s lives. It’s high stakes. So for them to understand the vision, they need to feel like super heroes and feel like they come to work every day saving people’s lives from the sales person to the admin and technical persons; they’re here to save lives.
What is your philosophy?
I have different philosophies for various stages of my life. In terms of my work, my philosophy is that there should be a difference between impact and social value. Companies who make money and bring impact to people’s lives are the ones that will survive. I don’t think companies who are obsessed with just money will survive. My thesis is that there shouldn’t be a division between companies who are saving lives and companies who are there making. Money that is why we built Lifebank.
Technology is going to help deliver very good services without lots of money. Nigeria is broke and this is an opportunity for us in terms of what new ideas and opportunities we’re going to introduce. If in the past, to start a new hospital without technology costs N10million, with technology, you’re going to spend N5million to start one now. Having a recession is an opportunity to restart and do something better.
Can you tell us the most toughest decision you have taken on the job?
Letting go some staff that are not good for the company is my toughest decision. I consider my staff as family members so firing a family member is not easy especially when they are nice and are not terrible people and have not stolen anything but are not competent in terms of the position they hold.
What has been your most favorable decision?
Every day I come to work is amazing because I get to do different things. I know that everything I do goes into saving someone. I don’t know who they are but knowing that everything we do is going to save someone is incredible.
What makes you tick?
Being useful to my community makes me tick. I have lived a privileged life and I have always been sure that with the privileges that I have had, there is a deep responsibility to dedicate my life to making my community better. I use all of the privileges life have given me to possibly drag my country into a better way of doing things.
What attracts you to people?
I like kind and diligent people.
What has been your husband’s impact on your business?
My husband has been fantastic. We are partners in our lives. In terms of business, we are co-founders and he helps me in terms of my work. We are lucky to have each other because he is very supportive. He looks after me.
How do you unwind despite your busy schedules?
I like to read and swim.
