DR OLA OREKUNRIN BROWN, a medical doctor and helicopter pilot, is the founder of Flying Doctors, an air ambulance service launched in Lagos to transport patients from areas with low levels of healthcare to those with well-appointed facilities offering better medical aid. Olamide Orekunrin was born in 1986 in London, England, and grew up under the care of foster parents in Lowestoft, she graduated from Hull York Medical School at the age of 21, becoming one of the youngest medical doctors in the United Kingdom.
Ola Orekunrin was motivated to start the charity after experiencing the loss of her sister under difficult circumstances and to improve medical services in Nigeria. Undaunted by difficult challenges, she successfully established Flying Doctors in Lagos, Nigeria in 2007 and she is still the CEO. Ola is a member of both the American Academy of Aesthetic Surgeons and the British Medical Association. She was listed among Young Global leaders by World Economic Forum in Orekunrin has lectured on entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Her company Flying Doctors have 20 aircraft and 44 doctors who can deliver care en route to one of Nigeria’s hospitals. The company hires out its services to major events in Nigeria as well as offering insurance to wealthy companies and families in the country. Orekunrin believes that improvements in her country’s position in the world will result from the action of entrepreneurs and not the government.
She is the perfect definition of beauty with the brain and has received several awards and recognition. In 2012 she received ThisDay Awards (Contribution to Health in Africa) 2012, The Future Award as ‘Entrepreneur of the year 2012’, and in 2013 NewsDirect Awards as ‘Outstanding Female CEO of the Year 2013’. In 2017, she was listed by Forbes Magazine edition of 30under30 entrepreneurs to look out for in Africa.
In February 2018 she received the “Extraordinary Business Achievement Award” at the Silverbird Group’s annual award held in Lagos she became the youngest person ever to win the prestigious award at age 30 and the only woman in the last decade. She is happily married to Mr. David Brown.
