The business of a patent medicine store in Nigeria (chemist and pharmacy)
The concepts of chemists and pharmacists in Nigeria are loggerheads because of their different practices and beliefs. The patent medicine store, which is also known as a chemist, has access to buy drugs from the market or wholesalers, open a store, and start selling. Many of these chemists are people who did auxiliary nursing or someone who has an idea of medicine, learned the skills in putting one or two drugs together, and started selling. This practice has been there for ages. A pharmacy or pharmacist who indulges in selling drugs and medicine has gone through school and acquired the skill and knowledge to do so. These are people that are supposed to operate in the system of selling drugs to patients. They take responsibility and make sure to give the right prescription to the patient, but the chemist doesn’t have deep-rooted knowledge about the drugs on the shelf. These are the issues that cause a loggerhead between chemists and pharmacists.
Requirements and considerations for opening a pharmacy section
You don’t need to be a pharmacist to open a pharmacy, but you need a pharmacist to open a pharmacy. This is because a rich man who has the money to spend can negotiate with a pharmacist to open a store. Whereby the rich man pays and funds the store using the pharmacist license and service to run the store. In this case, the pharmacist certificate is used to register under the pharmacy body, and a certificate of registration to go ahead with opening a store is issued. There is a size required for opening a pharmacy. Which shouldn’t be too close to another pharmacy store. Note: The pharmacist needs to also be there to oversee the activities going on in the store.
Capital required in setting up a pharmacy section
It costs a bit much because only the registration with the PCN (pharmacy body) should be about #300,000- #400,000. If you’re not a pharmacist, then you have to pay the pharmacist you are using his/her license to open your pharmacy store for about #750,000-#800,000. Some people also charge more. You also need to get the store depending on your location; places like Abuja or Lagos may cost #1 million for the shop rent yearly. Stocking up drugs in the store may as well cost #2m, then as time goes on, you keep buying more drugs. In summary, #4M is good enough for a start. The usual patent medicine store in Nigeria can even start as low as #500,000 and stock up as time goes on.
Where to source for drugs
There are places to get medicine at cheap rates in Nigeria. For instance, at the head bridge in Onitcha, there are a lot of marketers that buy directly from companies that manufacture drugs. So you can buy from these marketers at a very cheap rate. Also there are marketers in the Northern Part, Kano to be precise, and also in Lagos State. There are medical representatives from different companies that sell to patent medicine stores or where they go.
Mistakes to avoid in the pharmacy business
Having workers that you don’t have a laydown plan on how to monitor what is coming in and what goes out is a big mistake. You need to have a book or laptop where you record items in the stand and take record of all the sales made on a daily basis to easily track down items when you look for them. Lack of management is another mistake owners of these businesses make, especially if you spend more than your income. If you started with #5 million and after a while the return is not up to the capital, then you won’t be able to get back those drugs you have sold earlier. Having too many workers contributes heavily to your downfall in this business. You may not be able to pay them off when the inflow is low. Note: It is necessary to install a CCTV camera for security reasons.
