Ghanaian-UK entrepreneur and host of Konnected Minds Podcast, Derrick Abaitey, has revealed that he took out a personal loan to help finance the launch of his pharmacy business after struggling to raise enough capital.

Speaking on Joy Learning TV and Joy News’ entrepreneurship program,The Career Trail,Derrick said he had always envisioned building an online pharmacy, an idea he developed while completing his pharmacy training.

“While I was doing my pre-registration, I came up with a plan that with all the IT skills that I had, I was going to set up a pharmacy, and that pharmacy was going to be an online pharmacy,” he said.

However, he said the journey to becoming a pharmacist, and eventually pursuing his entrepreneurial dream, was anything but easy. During his third year at university, Abaitey found himself on the verge of being removed from the pharmacy programme after struggling with a mathematics-related course.

“There was a time in my third year where things got really tough. I'm terrible at maths, and I had a final chance to pass. If I didn't, I was gone,” he recalled.

With his academic future hanging in the balance, he stayed behind after the semester ended to prepare for his examinations. Despite his efforts, he admitted he still struggled to understand the course material. It was during that period that a friend recommended Gifted Hands by Dr. Ben Carson.

“I dropped everything I was doing and read it very quickly,” he revealed.

According to him, the book transformed his mindset and gave him the confidence to keep going.

He eventually passed the examination, completed his pharmacy training and fulfilled a promise he had made to God.

“I had made God a promise that if I passed the pharmacy course, wherever I was driving, I would stop the car and prostrate on the road because I needed this degree,” he recounted. 

 “Now when the results were released, my girlfriend, who is now my wife, was checking. When she found my name, I stopped the car in the middle of the road, got out and went straight to the ground to thank God. I was finally out of it,” he continued.

After qualifying, Abaitey wasted no time getting registered as a pharmacist and soon landed his first job.

"I was so quick to get registered because I didn't want to waste a day," he mentioned.

But while working as a pharmacist, he realised his passion lay elsewhere. According to him, the entrepreneurial spirit he had developed years earlier, selling products to fellow students while in college, kept drawing him back.

"Every time I went to work, I didn't really like it. The hustling I did in college was calling me back. That experience kept telling me it was time to start thinking seriously about my own business," he highlighted.

Rather than ignore the feeling, he decided it was time to pursue the online pharmacy idea he had envisioned during his training. He partnered with Eddy, a fellow pharmacist he met at church, and together they developed a business plan spanning more than 200 pages.

“We realised we needed £80,000 to start the business,” he noted.

To raise the capital, both men worked extra shifts, sometimes travelling outside London for weeks at a time to earn additional income. Even after months of saving, they still did not have enough money to launch the business.

“So I took a personal loan, and he took a personal loan as well,” he revealed.

Despite securing the loans, they still needed working capital to keep the business afloat. Their first attempt to secure funding from investors ended in disappointment, forcing them to seek support elsewhere.

Three friends eventually agreed to invest in the business, contributing £500 each month to help cover operating costs in exchange for shares.

The support gave the business the breathing space it needed in its early stages. However, as time went on, the three investors chose to step away from the venture to focus on other commitments, leaving him and his business partner, Eddy, to continue building the company.

But a new challenge quickly emerged.

"We had no customers. Our initial focus was on providing pharmacy services to care homes, but winning clients proved difficult," he acknowledged.

Instead of waiting for customers to come to them, the two entrepreneurs decided to go out and look for business themselves.

"We searched for the top care homes in our area. We put on our suits, picked up a briefcase and walked into the first one without an appointment. When we arrived, the receptionist asked whether we had booked a meeting. I said, 'No, but we're here to offer you a better service than what you're currently using. I had never done a sales pitch before. The only thing I had was audacity," he narrated.

A few days later, they received an email confirming that they had secured the contract.

"That became our first client," he recalled with excitement.

The breakthrough gave them the confidence to keep approaching other care homes, even when many turned them away.

"Sometimes they'll shut the door on you. That's fine. You go to the next one," he shared.

"That was when I learnt that 'no' simply means you haven't found the person who will say 'yes.' You just keep going until you hear 'yes,'" he added.

Reflecting on the journey, he said entrepreneurship demands more than a good idea, it requires courage.

"You need a bit of audacity. If you can't bet on yourself, you can't build a business," he echoed.