Our 2026 Global Young Achiever, Oluchukwu, is an outstanding young healthcare entrepreneur who is transforming access to health services in his community.
In Oluchukwu’s neighbourhood – and across his home country of Nigeria – unforeseen medical costs can quickly plunge low-income families into crisis. Determined to change this, Oluchukwu, 26, is transforming healthcare access locally through his community pharmacy and affordable ‘health shield’ insurance plan.
Our Sustainable Enterprise Challenge programme equipped Oluchukwu with the skills and strategies to launch his businesses and steer them to success. He now employs six people, with plans underway to employ 20 more by expanding to two new locations before the end of the year.
‘I wanted to create innovative solutions that make medicines and healthcare affordable and accessible in my community,’ Oluchukwu explains. ‘I now have the skills, confidence and network to create sustainable solutions.’
Alongside his community ventures, these solutions also include tech tools to benefit the wider healthcare sector.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to community healthcare, Oluchukwu received The King’s Trust Global Young Achiever Award, sponsored by World Wide Technology, at a star-studded awards ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall in London in May 2026.
Making medicine affordable
According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria ranks among the lowest 20 countries in the world for universal health coverage. Many people struggle to access basic medical care, and even for those who can, illness often leads directly to financial hardship.
Pharmacy graduate Oluchukwu, 26, is based in the capital Abuja, and is determined to drive change, expanding access to essential medicines and wider healthcare services.
With his fledgling medicine delivery service struggling to thrive, Oluchukwu joined the Sustainable Enterprise Challenge programme, delivered through our partners the British Council and Octoville Development Company, to develop the business skills he needed to complement his technical expertise.
‘I joined the programme to amplify my voice and develop practical skills to improve healthcare access,’ Oluchukwu explains. ‘The guidance and resources helped me implement my ideas effectively, refine my business plan, and scale my initiatives with confidence.’
Equipping entrepreneurs to succeed
In a context where jobseekers far outnumber formal jobs, self-employment and entrepreneurship are essential earning pathways for many young Nigerians. The Sustainable Enterprise Challenge programme, supported by the British Council, focuses on supporting aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills and guidance to turn good ideas into good businesses.
Reaching 480 young people in 2025, the seven-week course covers essential areas from business management to financial literacy and concludes with a business pitch competition. As he completed the programme, Oluchukwu’s business idea and presentation earned him the prize for best overall pitch among the Abuja cohort. He used the prize money, as well as investment commitments from guests at the pitch award ceremony, to help him launch his pharmacy business.
Building a healthy business
Drawing on his newfound skills and strategies, Oluchukwu successfully remodelled his business, securing a pharmacy licence and launching his own local pharmacy, soon followed by a community healthcare plan where members pay a small regular subscription to access medical support when they need it. This covers emergency care, consultations, lab tests and medicines, protecting people from unaffordable out-of-pocket expenses.
‘I applied the programme’s lessons to launch CHRISMED Pharmacy and the Community HealthShield Plan,’ Oluchukwu says. ‘Combining pharmacy expertise with business and financial skills allowed me to expand access to medicine, provide affordable healthcare, and empower my team.’
Together, Oluchukwu’s initiatives provide a critical local service – and have already created jobs for six other people. Additionally, Oluchukwu is also on track to establish two more pharmacies in rural areas before the end of 2026, creating 20 new direct jobs, and up to 40 indirect jobs, within the pharmaceutical industry and its supply chain.
Beyond his community ventures, Oluchukwu’s drive to innovate has also seen him leverage his tech skills to benefit the wider healthcare sector, developing tools, such as inventory management software, to help pharmacies and health centres manage their stock of medicines and avoid shortages.
Oluchukwu’s enterprising contributions to his local community, and to healthcare-related tech, are already driving transformation, and have immense potential. Keen to share his insights with others, Oluchukwu has since taken part in the Sustainable Enterprise Challenge programme again, this time serving as a judge and mentor.