Patent medicine vending; small and medium scale businesses and health enterprises: Constructing a business model

Abstract

Background: Patent medicine vendors (PMVs) is one of a major source of medicines for ailments in Nigeria. Criticism of PMVs focuses on drug quality, dispensing practices, and their lack of formal health care training. While studies in African context have documented the customer-PMV interactions, and the economic behavior of PMVs, there is dearth of information on its small scale business behavior as both roots and routes of drug service delivery. This qualitative investigation considered PMVs as owners of small businesses, and sought their business perspectives in comparison with views of other small business owners in Igbo-Ora, Nigeria.

Method: This study utilized an iterative approach to data collection among 51 vendors. In-depth interviews about participants’ businesses were collected from PMVs (n=16), food vendors (n=7), clothing sellers (n=7), provisions sellers (n=9), motor parts dealers (n=7), and others (n=5). Data was analyses using content analysis technique.

Findings: Accounts from participant reveal differences between how PMVs and other business owners perceive their businesses, amount of education necessary to learn the trade as well as the level of professionalism and cleanliness required to operate successfully. Unlike other groups, PMVs routinely are asked for highly technical information at point of purchase. PMVs work largely under strong influence of trade associations due to high control measures imposed by regulatory agencies.

Conclusion: Although selling medicine is a small-scale enterprise, PMVs’ work is coordinated by regulatory agencies to provide technical services to their clients. Their business model is based on possessing adequate knowledge about their products and maintaining standards.