The graduate business school of Pan-Atlantic University, has announced a bold new initiative aimed at transforming Africa’s healthcare systems by closing the critical leadership and management gaps undermining progress across the continent.
The Lagos Business School Healthcare Initiative (LBS-HCI) is designed as a continent-wide platform to strengthen leadership, management, and operational capacity in the healthcare sector.
Rooted in the school’s legacy of executive education and thought leadership, the initiative is poised to tackle a core but often overlooked problem, a lack of managerial expertise in healthcare delivery.
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Despite decades of investment in infrastructure and international financing, access to quality care in Africa remains fragile. The underlying issue is not just about more hospitals or equipment—it’s about execution, experts say.
Healthcare professionals are often thrust into leadership roles without the business training to navigate complex systems or scale innovative solutions.
“The real problem isn’t infrastructure or funding—it’s weak management and poor execution,” said Kunle Hassan, Chair of the newly inaugurated LBS-HCI Advisory Board and Founder of Eye Foundation Hospital Group.
“We must first admit that there is a serious gap in business understanding within healthcare. Only then can we begin to fix it,” he added
The Initiative has secured a formidable advisory board, bringing together leaders from healthcare, academia, and business. Alongside Hassan, earlier quoted, other members include Olusola Kushimo, a retired supervising consultant from Federal Medical Centre, Lagos, Stephen Sammut, professor of healthcare management at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and chairman, Industry Advisory Board at Alta Semper Capital LLP; and Tunde Salako, co-founder and CEO of Hadiel Health.
Also serving on the Board are Uchenna Uzo, LBS faculty director and professor of marketing; Monica Eimunjeze, a regulatory expert and executive-in-residence at LBS; and Arinze Nwokolo, director of the initiative.
At the inaugural board meeting, members voiced a unified call for urgent action.
“A results-driven approach rooted in teamwork and social enterprise is necessary,” Hassan emphasized, calling the initiative a platform for measurable, system-wide impact.
Kushimo highlighted the pressing need for doctors and other healthcare professionals to develop managerial skills.
“We cannot continue to ask clinicians to lead large teams or budgets without the tools to do so effectively,” he said.
Salako warned of the growing threat of brain drain and stressed the importance of leadership development tailored to various career stages. “Healthcare in Africa is at a crossroads,” he stated.
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“We can keep reacting to emergencies or start building systems that anticipate and prevent them. Leadership is central to that shift,” he added.
Uzo urged a strategic focus on top-level leaders first. “We need institutional champions who will drive this agenda forward within their organisations,” he said.
The LBS Healthcare Initiative focuses on four strategic pillars which include capacity building, thought leadership and research, collaborative platforms, and advisory services.
The capacity building will deliver tailored business education to healthcare professionals, empowering them with the tools to lead effectively and make data-driven decisions. Thought leadership and research will generate critical insights to inform policy and guide reform.
Collaborative platforms will foster partnerships across public, private, and non-profit sectors, creating space for shared learning and system-wide innovation, while, advisory services will support healthcare organisations with strategy development, diagnostics, and performance improvement.
