MedTech distributor search Africa
Africa is a region with considerable differences between individual countries. Progress is not visible everywhere and there is a big difference between the larger cities and the rural areas when it comes to the quality and availability of medical care.
Finding the right distribution partners is key to success.
Distributors often focus on the larger cities and therefore you are best off picking a few countries like South Africa, Nigeria and Morocco and focus within these countries on specific, more populous regions where the larger cities are based (like Johannesburg, Lagos or Casablanca). These conglomerates all have the best healthcare infrastructure within the country and here most of the money (public and private) is spent. Therefore, you expect your distributor to be strong here. Before you start looking for a distributor, ask yourself the following questions:
-
Does your device require servicing?
-
Does your device require hands on training with healthcare professionals?
-
Is your medical device/IVD used by consumers?
-
Do you prefer a large Africa medical equipment distributor or focused regional/specialist distributors?
-
Which African regions do you plan to focus on?
-
Are there competitors that need to be excluded?
Above questions, and probably more, will dictate the ideal distributor profile.
Finding African medical device/IVD distributors online can be challenging. Some of them don’t have great websites and even the good ones are therefore not easily found. You might meet distributors at larger exhibitions (like Arab Health) but how to assess if they can represent your brand in the best possible way and if they are a (financially) stable partner to grow the business together with you? Having someone on the ground in this market, having good connections in your focus markets, will pay for itself in finding a qualified distributor.
There is of course also the possibility to visit more regional exhibitions like Africa Health to better understand regional requirements and look for potential distribution partners.
Distributor search process
Gateway MedTech starts with generating an initial list of screened specialty African medical distributors that potentially match your distributor profile. The initial list is generated from our database, local desk research and existing networks. Out of those, we select the ones that meet the criteria of your distributor profile. We will screen and qualify these potential partners.
Our qualification process includes contacting these distributors, introducing your company, providing product information and potentially samples. We interview each distributor to determine if the company has the resources, experience and potential to successfully market your products. We often have contact with customers working with the potential partner which gives a good indication on their capabilities. Through this process we identify the companies with a sincere interest in your product (-s) and provide feedback of the top candidates.
During this process we provide regular updates including strategic feedback from the distributors contacted. The outcome is that we connect you with potential partners that have serious interest representing you in the African markets.
Don’t skip the due diligence in evaluating distributors
Some distributors may present themselves as having a large sales team and a wide distribution network. This may or may not be true. Smaller or more specialist distributors may work harder for you and produce better results. We advise to hire someone on the ground in Africa to support in this process, to perform due diligence for you, including credit checks of your shortlist candidates. Initial enthusiasm for your products is encouraging but you are looking for concrete results. In all cases, be very hesitant granting exclusivity. Exclusivity must be earned.
In addition to assisting with distribution screening and qualification, Gateway MedTech can also assist with distributor selection and the implementation phase of establishing a distribution network. Besides that, Gateway MedTech can support with distributor management on your behalf. Having completed over a hundred regional distributor search projects so far, we know exactly how to locate and screen medical device and IVD distributors in Africa. Our regional experts speak the local languages and have deep connections in the industry while operating with the highest integrity. Contact us today to get your requirements clear and explain how we can help you enter selected African markets for the first time or replace an underperforming distributor.
