Latest news with #Pyxis
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
How a Chinese fintech founder learned to build for Kenya's reality, not its potential
Nairobi, Kenya. Long's Africa story began rather fortuitously, says the author. Image: Tedd_ M on Unsplash "Three weeks in Beijing and Shanghai," I tell April Long before the mics come on for our podcast chat. "When?" she asks. "2011," I reply. "Oh," she laughs, "different country." No kidding. I wasn't a car person then, and I'm still not now, but I couldn't help but be floored by Xiaomi's recently unveiled YU7 SUV. Long gets it, though. She's spent 12 years watching East Africa transform, but her journey from a 'no-name Chinese town' (her words, not mine) to co-founding an Africa-focused fintech called Pyxis tells quite a story about transformation. Listening to her share gave me a fresh appreciation for what it must be like building in Africa while Chinese, and what locals might tend to overlook in our own backyard. Presidents and pictures Long's Africa story began rather fortuitously. She was 23, fresh from a master's in Guangzhou - the pulsing Chinese tech hub of 19 million people, nearly three million more than Zimbabwe's population. An International Student Exchange Center (ISEC) exchange program plonked her in Tanzania for what was supposed to be a brief stint. Two weeks in, she's somehow playing tour guide for President Xi Jinping's state visit, her face sneaking into a corner of a photo seen by millions back home. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ "Zero chance that happens in China," she tells me, and her parents' utter shock was probably audible from Dar es Salaam. In Guangzhou, she was nobody special. In Tanzania, she was receiving presidents. But Long says she stayed because at 20, reading Eric Simanis's 2012 Harvard Business Review article "Reality Check at the Bottom of the Pyramid" during a previous Taiwan student exchange, she'd decided she wanted to "make money and make a difference." Most people say that. Long actually meant it enough to turn down some prestigious appointments at Ogilvy China, twice (albeit gigs with relatively uninspiring remuneration attached). Humbling times Fast forward to 2021. Long, now married to a Singaporean named George Chan and fully rooted in Kenya, co-founds Pyxis with him (with her at the helm). Named after a southern constellation visible from Nairobi but faint from Beijing, the company aimed to tackle the $286 billion Africa-China trade gap. How apropos. Their first move? A platform for Nairobi SMEs to pay Chinese factories in yuan. "I made an MVP in two, three months and thought it was going to be a game-changer," she recalls ruefully. It flopped spectacularly. They found no demand for the product despite Long spending six months embedding herself in Nairobi's wholesale markets - Gikomba, Luthuli, River Road - chasing interest that never materialised. The onboarding friction was too high, ticket sizes too small. "My cost didn't justify my LTV [customer lifetime value] at all." But after struggling to raise money to burn through the problem as was the fashion at the time, she pivoted. Hard. Following the money She reckons the market taught her something uncomfortable: "We sometimes want to build the future…but we forget we are in the present tense." When she went to wholesale markets, traders would shout, "China, China, what are you selling?" The demand wasn't for payment rails but for access to suppliers. So she tried e-commerce, even partnering with Alibaba for dropshipping. Another lesson: small-volume imports doubled or tripled costs. She realised it came down to economies of scale. As she puts it: "90% of African trade is still happening in a more traditional way." The reality stung. SMEs weren't ready for her vision of social commerce. Infrastructure, consumer habits, and economics didn't align with her Silicon Valley-inspired dreams. So Pyxis shifted to serve Chinese bulk traders shipping containers to African distributors, handling currency exchange and settlement. Long admits being unhelpfully stubborn. "I was like, no, we have to work with SMEs." Because, of course, 'impact'. But the numbers didn't lie: 10% of her time on bulk traders sustained her team, while 90% on SMEs drained cash. Mirror reflections Long's story reflects our tech scene's growing pains. We do love our fintech fairy tales. Unicorns, million-dollar raises, Silicon Valley playbooks transplanted to Lagos, Nairobi or wherever. But Long's experience cuts deeper. She flipped from chasing an aspirational middle class to grappling with price-sensitive realities. That humility: admitting she misread demand, unlearning her assumptions, pivoting when data contradicted vision. To me, that's the real crux of the story. "It has been really, really hard for me the past two years," she admits. "Every day I have to remind myself of my mission to keep myself going." Her willingness to admit missteps, unlearn assumptions, and rebuild from scratch - perhaps more so in Africa than elsewhere - separates builders from dreamers. Nevertheless, Long hasn't ditched her vision. "I still believe SMEs will dominate," she says. "Pyxis will help make that happen." Playing by today's rules while eyeing tomorrow. Note to self Impact often starts exclusively before it scales. Awkward? Sure. I would know. At 630 000+ plays and counting after over a decade, The African Tech Roundup Podcast hosting my conversation with Long isn't mass media, but it's carved out something sustainable by leaning into specificity rather than chasing radio's democratised reach or the internet's alluring promise of hyperbolic audience scale. Long's pivot to bulk traders isn't sexy, but it's real revenue funding her SME dreams and creating room to establish whether there might be VC-backable venturing worth pursuing. The 12-person team she indicates spans China, Kenya, Australia and Singapore isn't the next unicorn, and she isn't claiming it will be. But her willingness to evolve, admit failure, and rebuild from first principles is admirable. For now, Long's relying on the bulk traders, the aggregators, the messy reality of how trade actually flows to deliver interim sustainability. But, make no mistake, her eyes are trained firmly on the horizon where SMEs drive the next wave. Andile Masuku is Co-founder and Executive Producer at African Tech Roundup. Connect and engage with Andile on X (@MasukuAndile) and via LinkedIn. Image: File. Andile Masuku is Co-founder and Executive Producer at African Tech Roundup. Connect and engage with Andile on X (@MasukuAndile) and via LinkedIn. ** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL BUSINESS REPORT
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BD appoints Bilal Muhsin as president of new connected care group
This story was originally published on MedTech Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily MedTech Dive newsletter. Name: Bilal Muhsin New role: President of connected care, BD Previous role: Chief operating officer, Masimo BD said Monday that it has named Bilal Muhsin as president of its new connected care segment. The hire is effective as of July 2. The company is creating the segment as part of the restructuring it announced in February. Connected care will house BD's medication management and advanced patient monitoring devices, giving it control of products including the Pyxis line of automated dispensing systems and Alaris infusion pumps. Muhsin has joined BD to help set up the new segment. Reporting to BD CEO Tom Polen, the executive will lead strategy development to support the transition to the revised structure over the next several months. Polen said in a statement that Muhsin's 'extensive and deep knowledge of connected care technologies, software and informatics strategies' will help BD as it advances its connected care strategy. Muhsin developed the knowledge during his 25 years at Masimo, a medtech company that built a portfolio of patient monitoring devices around pulse oximeter technology. Masimo told investors last month that Muhsin was resigning as chief operating officer to pursue other opportunities. The company, which did not replace Muhsin when he left on July 1, disclosed the change alongside an overhaul of its commercial leadership. At BD, Muhsin will take over a connected care business that the company has grown through deals such as the $1.53 billion buyout of Parata Systems and $93 million acquisition of Medkeeper. The pharmacy robotics business that BD has built through the recent acquisitions sits alongside the Pyxis franchise that the company added to its portfolio through the $12.2 billion takeover of Carefusion in 2015. The Pyxis business received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration last year and is now entering an important period. BD recently began shipping a new Pyxis device, Polen said at a Goldman Sachs event last month. The CEO said the launch could cause market share to 'shift incrementally' and presents an opportunity to charge a price premium. Recommended Reading BD plans split from life science business to fuel medtech investment
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Miami Herald
19-03-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
After being fired at Mount Sinai, a Kendall nurse swapped surgery fentanyl for saline
Being a fentanyl thief while working at Miami Beach's Mount Sinai Medical Center cost a registered nurse his nursing license and a little freedom. Doing the same thing while working at HCA Kendall Hospital cost Emmanuel Valentin the rest of his freedom. Valentin, 40, was sentenced in Miami federal court Monday to two years, two months in federal prison after pleading guilty to tampering with consumer products, specifically swapping fentanyl for saline while at HCA Kendall. He was already on state probation until May 15, 2027, for theft of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance, crimes that occurred while he worked at Mount Sinai. READ MORE: A nurse employed by hospitals in Miami Beach and Kendall swapped fentanyl for saline The Mount Sinai fentanyl thefts got Valentin fired in March 2023. Despite this, Valentin got hired at HCA Kendall, formerly known as Kendall Regional, in July 2023. 'At the time HCA Kendall hired Valentin, they were not aware that Mount Sinai had fired him for diversion of fentanyl in March 2023,' Valentin's admission of facts with his guilty plea says. 'It is not known if this was inadequate reporting to the Board of Nursing or for some other reason. Valentin did not disclose that his prior employment was terminated and why.' An email sent by the Herald to HCA Kendall Human Resources through the hospital's website hasn't been answered yet. According to state documents, Mount Sinai filed a complaint on Sept. 19, 2023, with the Florida Department of Health about Valentin's fentanyl 'diversion' in March. That complaint was filed 29 days after HCA Kendall filed a complaint with the Department of Health about Valentin's fentanyl thefts there. An FDA expert anesthesiologist Dr. Arthur Simone was prepared to testify, 'Fentanyl injections are used to provide pain and relief during and after surgery' and 'fentanyl is often used in conjunction with other medicines (including midazolam) before and during an operation as part of the overall anesthesia plan.' Caught on camera HCA Kendall required nurses to get fentanyl and midazolam from a Pyxis machine. Staffers entered their personal access code and fingerprint, get drug vials, count the vials left and enter that number in the Pyxis machine. On Aug. 16, 2023, a co-worker coming into came into a room with a Pyxis machine and saw Valentin holding an opened vial of midazolam with the seal removed. 'The seal should not have been broken until it was being administered to the patient,' Valentin's guilty plea says. The co-worker saw 'the vial was only half full. Valentine explained that he had mistakenly thought that (the co-worker's) patient was his patient and that was why he was removing the midazolam vial.' Upon hearing of this incident, HCA Kendall checked surveillance video for the four labs with Pyxis machines from Aug. 9 through Aug. 16, 2023. What they saw: 'Valentin would remove fentanyl and midazolam vials from the Pyxis machine and remove the drug from the vial with a syringe and insert saline solution from an IV bag in its place.' 'Valentine would retrieve discarded vials from the biohazard waste bin and re-use them with saline to replace fentanyl vials he would steal.'
Associated Press
05-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Distribution Management Selects Onward Robotics for Automated Order Fulfillment, Leading 3PL Deploying 30+ Lumabots in Q1 2025
Distribution and Fulfillment Leader to Drive Process Innovation with Onward Robotics' Proprietary Technology Platform and Autonomous Mobile Robots PITTSBURGH, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Onward Robotics, the pioneering mobile robotics and software company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to provide its Meet Me® automation solution to Distribution Management, a leading distributor and national third-party logistics (3PL) provider with more than 50 years of expertise in distribution and fulfillment. Distribution Management (DM) will use Onward Robotics' revolutionary Pyxis software and 30+ Lumabot® autonomous mobile robots in its St. Peters, Missouri, fulfillment center with potential to expand to multiple DM sites in 2025. Installing in Q1 of this year, Onward's person-to-goods automation solution will enhance DM's distribution flow and management of goods, supporting the 3PL's ability to process orders quickly and maintain its impressive record of delivering 99.98% order accuracy. Onward Robotics' unique Meet Me model decouples the work of fulfillment associates and Lumabot AMRs, allowing each to function as independent agents of the overall system. Proprietary Pyxis technology uses intelligent mission planning and dynamic labor balancing to optimize task management: reducing unproductive travel time, increasing flexibility, and delivering the capacity to move more orders, more efficiently. 'DM is committed to remaining on the forefront of innovation by implementing cutting-edge automation and robotic technologies that drive operational excellence for our customers,' said Rick Goe, SVP of Supply Chain Management at Distribution Management. 'Onward's Meet Me solution is an intelligent, scalable, and flexible way to increase efficiency and optimize order-picking workflows in our fulfillment centers.' 'DM has an established history of order fulfillment and inventory management innovation, and we're proud they've recognized Onward's Meet Me solution as the breakthrough industry leader in automated order fulfillment,' said Onward Robotics CEO Lance VandenBrook. 'Onward is committed to helping DM and its customers gain efficiency and flexibility in their supply chain operations, and we're looking forward to shared successes and future innovation with the DM team.' About Distribution Management Distribution Management (DM) is a U.S.-based 3rd Party Fulfillment (3PL) provider for consumer brands and a wholesale distributor serving the imaging reseller channel. With over 50 years in business, DM is an expert in automation, inventory management and order fulfillment addressing specific business needs within eCommerce logistics. The company strives to deliver fast, efficient and accurate order fulfillment that elevates the customer experience at every touchpoint. About Onward Robotics Onward Robotics delivers innovative automation technology that coordinates humans and robots as a cohesive system to revolutionize fulfillment. Our Meet Me® solution combines proprietary software with person-to-goods mobile robots to increase efficiency in warehousing, distribution, and e-commerce operations. Onward Robotics provides the boost in productivity, flexibility, and speed that companies need to remain competitive and grow. Learn more at
