I once had a dream that diagnostics finally worked, like really worked.

The machines ran smoothly. The tests were fairly priced. The woman ahead of me didn’t need to “come back tomorrow.” And somehow in that dream…

I knew what made it all work.

It wasn’t just the science.

It was the business behind it.

Diagnostics is not just a medical service. It’s a business.

And the sooner we admit that, the sooner we can improve access, quality, and sustainability.

Too many labs are built on good intentions but poor margins.

We know haematology. But what about cash flow?

We know LIMS. But what about logistics?

The reagent supplier who didn’t deliver on time? That’s a supply chain issue.

The lab that keeps running out of test kits? That’s a procurement and inventory problem.

The test that costs ₦23,000 in Abuja and ₦52,000 in Port Harcourt? That’s pricing, market dynamics, and margin stacking.

These are not just operational hiccups. They’re business decisions, or the lack thereof.

And here’s the thing: most labs in Africa aren’t failing because of bad science.

They’re failing because the science isn’t supported by systems.

We don’t teach business in lab school.

We teach blood counts, not break-even points.

We teach turnaround time, not team management.

We teach ELISA, not equity investment.

So, we keep producing brilliant lab scientists, Who then struggle to build diagnostic practices that last.

I’ve been in rooms where the science was flawless, but the pricing strategy was a mess.

And I’ve also seen labs that knew how to package, price, position, and persist, even with lean resources.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• To scale diagnostics, you need more than devices. You need profit strategy.
• To reach more women with HPV testing, you need more than awareness. You need distribution.
• To be heard in boardrooms, you need more than results. You need results that speak in business terms.

 So what’s the way forward?

  We must start:

• Training lab managers on cost recovery and pricing models.
• Teaching labpreneurs to understand demand cycles and customer psychology.
• Building diagnostic business dashboards, not just LIMS.
• Encouraging global health partners to think of labs not just as service points, but as small enterprises with P&L responsibility.

Diagnostics deserves sustainability. And sustainability needs business sense.

I’m still learning. Still growing.

But if no one else will say it, I will:

Every diagnostic professional should learn the language of business.

Because science opens doors, But business keeps them open.

If this resonates with you, If you’ve ever felt like you’re a lab professional trying to build something sustainable but don’t know where to start .

Come join us in #BenchToBusinessFellows.

Use this link to join: https://bit.ly/benchtobusinessfellows

We’re creating a space where lab scientists become leaders, And diagnostics stops surviving, and starts scaling.

With numbers, with nuance, with vision.

The business of diagnostics is no longer optional.

Tag someone who’s running a lab or working on diagnostic access.

Let’s make the invisible work visible. Let’s build diagnostic businesses that last.

Stay tuned for the next piece where we will break down the diagnostic Business Value chain.

Nancy.