Planting Seeds for Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership

The U.S. healthcare landscape is marked by significant disparities in pharmacy access, particularly in underserved communities. Minority-owned pharmacies are often underrepresented as well, limiting access to essential healthcare services and further contributing to health inequities due to the lack of representation in the field of pharmacy. A USC study has found that Black and Latino city dwellers face disproportionate challenges in accessing pharmacies due to geographic limitations and closures. Additionally, according to Forbes, minorities pursuing pharmacy ownership frequently encounter obstacles in securing funding due to lower net worth and limited access to capital as well as the location of their intended business. In a 2020 study by the Ohio State University, they found that 46% of US counties have at least one pharmacy desert (defined as a 10-mile area without a retail pharmacy). That's at least 15.8 million people living in pharmacy deserts. Systemic inequalities have created barriers to success for minority entrepreneurs and access to healthcare. By addressing these challenges, we aim to increase the number of minority-owned pharmacies, improving access to healthcare and fostering economic growth in underserved communities.

Our solution, Sowing Seeds for Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership empowers aspiring minority pharmacy owners. We provide comprehensive support, including mentorship, business training, and business plan reviews already through our Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership program to help individuals from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups overcome barriers and establish successful pharmacies in underserved communities.

Thus, a key component we are missing is seed funding, which will help to cover startup costs like inventory, real estate, and marketing for successful participants of our program. This initial capital reduces reliance on traditional financing and demonstrates commitment to lenders. As long as participants complete the Pathways program successfully and are opening their pharmacy in a pharmacy desert, they would qualify for the seed funding.

By combining expert guidance, practical training, and strategic financial support, our program cultivates the next generation of minority pharmacy owners and promotes equitable access to healthcare in underserved areas.

Our solution serves individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups who aspire to own pharmacies. These individuals often face significant barriers, including limited access to capital and mentorship, which hinder their ability to establish their own small businesses.

By providing seed funding, mentorship, and business training, our program empowers these individuals to overcome these obstacles and open pharmacies in underserved communities. These new pharmacies have the potential to increase access to essential healthcare services, improve health outcomes, and promote economic growth.

Moreover, according to the Health Professionals for Diversity Coalition, the presence of minority pharmacy owners can enhance patient trust and communication, leading to improved adherence to medication regimens and overall health outcomes.

We collaborate closely with the Minority Pharmacist Entrepreneur Collaborative (MPECRx) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) to ensure that our program is responsive to the specific needs of minority pharmacy owners. MPECRx, in particular, plays a critical role in providing valuable insights and feedback from the target population. Through focus groups and surveys, MPECRx helps us identify emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in the industry. There are many other minority pharmacy organizations we also reach out to, to help increase awareness of our program and the resources available to minorities who are looking to own their own pharmacy.

By leveraging the expertise and resources of these organizations, we are able to provide comprehensive support and guidance to aspiring minority pharmacy owners. Our team is committed to empowering these individuals and creating a more equitable healthcare landscape.

So far, this program has had 3 cohorts. Each cohort had around 10 participants. We are looking at having around 10 participants again in 2025. Most of the participants are looking to own their own pharmacy in the next 1-3 years. One of the cohort participants is a great example of how this seed funding could be transformative. Dr. Ayanjoke completed the Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership program and soon thereafter was part of a pilot project by McKesson, Project Oasis, to open a pharmacy in a pharmacy desert. Our hope would be to partner with McKesson on this by nurturing the seed funding for these pharmacy owners so they can have access to essential funds right away. Thereby further reducing barriers, scaling up our Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership program, and creating one less pharmacy desert in the process.

https://www.ncpafoundation.org...

Our solution stands out by offering grant funding and comprehensive support to aspiring pharmacy owners, addressing a critical need in the industry. Unlike traditional lending models, which impose additional financial burdens, our grant-based approach empowers individuals to launch their businesses without the weight of debt. By providing direct financial assistance in the form of grants, we eliminate the barriers associated with loan applications, interest rates, and repayment schedules. This empowers aspiring pharmacy owners to focus on building their businesses without the distractions of financial stress. Additionally, our comprehensive support services, including mentorship, training, and technical assistance, provide a holistic approach to business development. While other solutions may offer financial support, they often rely on loan-based models. Our grant-based approach is unique in its ability to provide immediate, unrestricted funding without the strings attached to traditional loans. This allows recipients to allocate funds strategically and invest in their businesses with greater flexibility. Our model can inspire other organizations to adopt similar grant-based approaches for supporting small business owners in various industries. By demonstrating the effectiveness of this model, we can shift the paradigm from loan-based support to grant-based empowerment. This could lead to a more equitable and sustainable ecosystem for entrepreneurship. 

By fostering a new generation of pharmacy owners, our solution can help address healthcare disparities and improve access to essential medications in underserved communities. Additionally, it can contribute to the growth and diversification of the pharmacy industry, creating new jobs and economic opportunities. Ultimately, our approach can reshape the landscape of small business support by highlighting the transformative power of grants and comprehensive support services.

Our primary impact goal is to empower aspiring minority pharmacy owners, particularly those from underserved communities, by providing them with the necessary resources and support to establish and grow successful businesses. By doing so, we aim to:

Enhance Access to Healthcare: Increase access to quality, affordable healthcare services, especially in pharmacy deserts.

Stimulate Economic Growth: Contribute to local economic development by creating jobs and fostering entrepreneurship.

Reduce Healthcare Disparities: Address health disparities by promoting diversity and inclusion in the pharmacy industry.

Measuring Progress:

To measure our progress towards these goals, we will utilize a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Some key indicators include:

Number of Pharmacy Owners Supported: Tracking the number of individuals who have received grants and support services.

Job Creation: Monitoring the number of jobs created by the supported pharmacies.

Economic Impact: Assessing the economic impact of the supported pharmacies, including revenue generated and taxes paid.

Patient Satisfaction: Gathering feedback from patients served by the supported pharmacies to evaluate the quality of care and accessibility of services.

Business Sustainability: Tracking the long-term sustainability of the supported businesses, including their revenue, profitability, and employment levels.

By closely monitoring these indicators, we can assess the effectiveness of our program and make data-driven adjustments to maximize its impact.

2 Full-time staff

Less than one year

Our team is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. We believe that diversity of thought, background, and experience enriches our work and leads to innovative solutions. To achieve this, we:

• Foster a Culture of Inclusion: We create a welcoming and respectful workplace where all team members feel valued and empowered. We encourage open communication, active listening, and empathy.
• Provide Equal Opportunities: We offer equal opportunities for professional development, training, and advancement to all team members, regardless of their background or identity.
• Celebrate Differences: We organize and participate in team-building activities and cultural events that celebrate diversity and promote understanding.
• Continuously Learn and Improve: We encourage feedback from our team members to identify areas for improvement.

By prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, we aim to create a thriving team that drives positive impact.

Our business model revolves around providing a free educational program to empower minority individuals to become pharmacy owners. We hope to scale the program by including a capital funding component that might also attract investors who seek to address healthcare inequities and support this type of social impact. The current business model relies on donors and funders to support the work, but could expand to attracting impact investors as well. We provide the Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership educational program online through a series of webinars throughout the year. Minority pharmacy owners need this service to increase their access to sustainable pharmacy ownership, this would then also lead to greater economic empowerment for minority communities, reduced healthcare disparities, improved patient outcomes, and increased economic activity in underserved areas.

Compared to the previous fiscal year, support of our work has increased by a little over 30%. Much of this success is because we are pursuing a healthy mix of individual donor and funder support. We have added a couple new grants to our funding that we had never received before and increased the number of new donors as well as increased pre-established donors in our network to new giving levels. We are also actively pursuing partnerships with other nonprofits to see if services can be leveraged to save money and provide additional value to the people we serve. Mark Cuban provided a grant to our organization in 2024 and so did ACT, we are incredibly grateful for this support of our work and the opportunity it provided to adopt the Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership program. In the long term, we aim to achieve financial sustainability through a combination of recurring grant funding, increased individual donor support at various reliable annual giving levels, and potentially exploring revenue-generating activities such as fee-for-service training or serving as a fiscal sponsor for organizations without 501(c)3 status who hope to make an impact on independent community pharmacy. We will continuously monitor our financial performance and adapt our fundraising strategies to ensure the long-term viability and impact of our program(s).

We are applying to the Truist Foundation Inspire Awards because we believe this platform can significantly amplify our efforts to increase minority pharmacy ownership. Collaborating with Truist Foundation and MIT Solve would provide invaluable resources and expertise. Access to their network of funders, mentors, and industry leaders would be crucial in:

• Overcoming barriers to coalition building: The Challenge can facilitate connections with key stakeholders (businesses, nonprofits, government) essential for building a robust support network for aspiring minority pharmacy owners. Helping us think outside of the "normal" partnerships would make it possible to scale and grow the impact of our program more quickly.
• Developing a more sustainable funding model: The Challenge can provide guidance on developing a compelling funding strategy, connecting us with potential investors, and exploring innovative funding mechanisms.
• Scaling our impact: The Challenge can provide access to resources and expertise to scale our program effectively and reach a larger number of aspiring minority pharmacy owners across the country, thereby further decreasing the amount of barriers faced by the population we are serving.

By leveraging the support and guidance provided by Truist Foundation and MIT Solve, we can strengthen our coalition efforts, enhance program sustainability, and ultimately increase access to pharmacy ownership for underrepresented minorities, addressing a critical need in healthcare access and economic empowerment.