Dr George Ngondi: The Scientist Who Bet KSh454 Million on a DNA Dream
When Dr George Ngondi set out to build a genomics laboratory capable of undertaking high-throughput genetic sequencing in Kenya, he knew the science would be demanding. What he did not anticipate, however, was how difficult it would be to secure the financing needed to bring the technology into the country.
Ngondi, a microbiologist and genomics expert, is the founder and Director of Nextgen Molecular Lab, a specialized laboratory that undertakes molecular and genomic testing to help diagnose and better understand diseases through analysis of genetic material.
To build the laboratory's advanced sequencing capability, Ngondi needed about US$3.5 million, equivalent to approximately KSh454 million. The search for financing proved to be one of the biggest hurdles.
“We approached many banks, and everywhere we went, we faced a lot of challenges. So, we had to go for debt financing, and debt financing was a bigger challenge,” said Ngondi.
The investment was not limited to the genetic sequencer. Before acquiring the main equipment, Ngondi had already invested more than KSh100 million in supporting infrastructure and laboratory equipment, including a negative-pressure room for DNA isolation, PCR machines, quality-control analyzers and equipment used in library preparation.
The additional investment meant that the laboratory had already put significant capital into establishing the specialized facility and creating the infrastructure required to operate an advanced sequencing platform.
At the center of the investment was the NovaSeq™ System, an ultra-high-throughput Next-Generation Sequencing platform capable of processing large volumes of genetic material simultaneously. For a laboratory, the machine is more than another piece of equipment. It is where much of the genomic sequencing work happens.
Think of a sample brought into the facility, such as blood or other biological material. It contains genetic information that cannot be seen with the naked eye. The NovaSeq™ System reads this genetic information at a very large scale, helping scientists identify and study changes in DNA that may be linked to disease or drug resistance.
This means that when a human sample enters the laboratory, the machine becomes part of the process that turns that sample into useful genetic information.
Why does that matter in medicine? Genetic information can provide clues about disease and how it affects individuals. By reading large amounts of DNA, genomic sequencing can help researchers identify genetic changes associated with certain diseases, understand how diseases develop and support research into how patients may respond differently to medicines.
For a laboratory, the system also provides the capacity to process large volumes of genetic material in one place. The information generated can support disease research, clinical investigations and the growing field of precision medicine, where treatment decisions are informed by the biological characteristics of individual patients.
Acquiring the equipment came with a multimillion-dollar price tag. The laboratory also needed specialized spaces, installation, and supporting infrastructure to operate it properly. Securing financing of that magnitude therefore remained a significant hurdle. The breakthrough came when Equity Bank structured the financing around the genetic sequencer itself.