Driving Data-Led Expansion for a Growing Diagnostics SME in East Africa

Diagnostics SME Expansion Strategy Across East Africa - Case Study

Client Background

The client is a rapidly scaling diagnostics SME headquartered in Kenya, looking to extend its footprint across neighboring markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. As the company prepared for regional expansion, it needed a clear understanding of how buyers in adjacent healthcare ecosystems evaluated suppliers, adopted new diagnostic solutions, and managed procurement cycles.

Client’s Challenge

The company sought to understand how mid-sized clinics, regional labs, and public healthcare institutions in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda made purchasing decisions. Existing market data was either too generic or irrelevant for SME-scale application. Without insights into procurement patterns, price sensitivity, and switching behaviors, the client risked misaligning their go-to-market approach and stalling their regional growth.

How Mordor Intelligence Helped

Executed Grounded Primary Research: We designed a hybrid research program combining Computer-Assisted Telephonic Interviews (CATI) with in-depth interviews to reach hospital procurement heads, lab managers, and local distributors.
Aligned Discussion Framework to Business Goals: Co-created a custom discussion guide with the client, focusing on supplier challenges, product perception, and readiness to trial new diagnostic offerings.
Localized Execution Strategy: Managed fieldwork across Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda through a mix of in-house and trusted regional field partners, ensuring coverage even in low-visibility zones.
Delivered Market-Backed Recommendations: Provided clear insights into distributor incentives, optimal pricing tiers, and product packaging tweaks that would resonate with target segments.

Key Findings

Clinics and labs showed higher switching intent when bundled maintenance services were included in supply agreements.
Diagnostic kit repurchase cycles varied significantly across public and private buyers, impacting replenishment strategies.
Smaller health centers preferred low-volume packaging formats to minimize wastage and manage cash flows.
Distributors favored exclusive arrangements where after-sales training was client-supported.

Impact Created

Refined Market Offering for Relevance: The client revamped pricing structures and introduced bundled services based on specific buyer segment needs.
Prioritized High-Potential Markets: Research revealed three responsive sub-regions with favorable buyer behavior and distribution readiness, guiding a phased expansion plan.
Enabled Investor Confidence and Alignment: The data-backed go-to-market roadmap helped secure additional funding and stakeholder buy-in for the next stage of growth.

Our Industry Coverage

Mordor Intelligence has worked with diagnostic companies, device manufacturers, and healthcare service providers across frontier and emerging markets, especially where structured intelligence is limited.

Our tailored healthcare research services include:

Go to Market Strategies: Identifying route-to-market structures that align with procurement behavior and care delivery gaps.
Customer Need Analysis: Understanding functional and operational expectations across private, public, and informal healthcare networks.
Pricing and Import Export Intelligence: Evaluating landed cost structures, local pricing benchmarks, and payment models.
Surveys and Primary Research Fieldwork: Executing end-to-end data collection across hard-to-access geographies through region-specific methodologies.
Market Entry Strategy: Mapping the regulatory landscape, demand inflection zones, and partnership opportunities for diagnostics scale-up.

From on-ground discovery to actionable planning, Mordor Intelligence helps SMEs unlock growth with intelligence that’s designed to work where others default to assumptions.