This spotlight features Dr Mambi Madzicire, a design thinking expert, who designed a portable and modular contactless handwashing station with the NM Bello design studio. Her design won the wallpaper “Life-Enhancer of the Year” Award in 2021. This presents a great example of how research and design thinking can work to provide local context-based solutions for Africa.
A brief bio
I am from Zimbabwe and have been living in Lagos for close to eight years. I have a growing collection of plants, with the goal of creating a cosy green space at home. I am the founder of Haralago, a company that provides medical equipment and facilities maintenance services to healthcare organisations.
What time does your alarm go off?
6am
What does your morning look like?
My husband and I start our morning by discussing that day’s goals and activities. Then I prepare for work (breakfast, shower, etc.). Sometimes I do some work at home before going to the office. I am a news junkie and I typically catch up on the news while I’m in traffic.
How did you get into this career path?
I was in my third year of my Biomedical Engineering PhD and studying the potential to use nanoparticles for the detection of cardiovascular disease. While on a break in Zimbabwe, I visited some hospitals and realised that the type of technology that I was studying was not what is needed to save lives in our part of the world. At that point, I knew I had to somehow end up back on the African continent. I believe that there are certain things that are difficult to leapfrog and that we need better systems and infrastructure in place in order to truly improve the state of healthcare on our continent. After my PhD, I did an MBA at Stanford, where I added business principles and human-centred design (design thinking) to my toolbox.
Tell us what a typical day looks like
Every day is different! My activities fall in a few buckets – business development and proposals, research, meeting with clients and potential clients, ideating and problem-solving. I derive a lot of joy from helping other entrepreneurs to think through their challenges and opportunities to improve or grow their businesses.
Can you share some of your most memorable moments?
I have been privileged to have so many moments in life that are worth remembering. As an undergraduate, I studied in Kyoto for a year and this was full of wonderful experiences. One fun memory was going out with my host father to ring the bell during the traditional New Year’s ceremony at the local temple. When I was in graduate school, I was on a panel that was moderated by Bill Clinton and included participants such as Natalie Portman. I remember being impressed by the way Bill Clinton makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the room when he is talking to you and being surprised that Natalie Portman was much more petite in person than I expected. Recently, my most memorable moments have been the extended quality time with my parents – learning more about our family history and their personal sacrifices during Zimbabwe’s independence struggle.
Read more on the handwashing device here
What do you love the most about your job?
I love having the opportunity to make a difference in the patient experience, by helping healthcare providers improve their operations and make the best use of their assets. Healthcare is complex, but I love the challenge and intellectual stimulation that is involved in trying to develop new services, products and business models that can work locally.
What do you not like about your job?
Healthcare is an “always-on” sector, so it does become somewhat challenging to fully unplug
What do you do after work?
In the evenings, I decompress, which usually involves a cup of tea and/or snack before dinner. (I’m really into tea, particularly the loose-leaf herbal varieties.) Then I either continue with some work, read or do some chores (unless it’s date night with my husband).
What do you do at the weekends?
On the weekends, I work or have meetings, run errands and spend quality time with my husband and friends. I try to be flexible and open to what comes up.
What does societal change mean to you?
For me, societal change means a commitment to openly sharing and discussing each other’s values, hopes and expectations from a variety of perspectives. The goal of this is to use empathy to recognize when society needs to adapt to accommodate the changing needs of the people in the community. Societal change should ideally lead to improving most people’s lives.
What does minimalism mean to you?
For me, minimalism means simplifying and letting go of things that don’t add value or lead to me being content. It’s an interesting journey, as it requires some introspection to really understand what makes me happy and allows me to have a clearer mind. During this process, it has been important for me to try to have a mindset of abundance, which makes it easier to let the things that are not critical go. There are so many inefficiencies that come from living in Lagos, so I am actively trying to optimize some tasks so that I can spend more time on the things that are important. I realized recently that minimalism also extends to my digital as well as physical space – I’m currently working on paring down and organizing my apps, files, photos, etc.
Where was your last holiday and why did you choose the destination?
My last holiday was in the US, which was mainly because I had the opportunity to be with my extended family. Otherwise, I generally choose destinations based on what there is to see, do and eat, with quite a strong emphasis on the latter. I find food to be such an important part of the culture and I love to explore that when I travel.
If you were not doing what you are now doing, what career will you be in?
If I was not working in healthcare, I would most likely be doing something in supply chain/logistics or agriculture.
I love having the opportunity to make a difference to the patient experience