Dis-Chem Chief Executive Officer Rui Morais discusses the company’s purpose and sustainability ambition and how these are governed.
When did you articulate Dis-Chem’s purpose and at what point did affordable healthcare access become the organising principle for strategic decisions?
Healthcare access has always been central to Dis-Chem’s model. What has evolved is our role in shaping the wider healthcare system. As we expanded from pharmacy retail into clinics, healthcare funding, digital health and adherence solutions, it became clear that affordable access was not simply one part of our business − it could become the organising principle for how the ecosystem develops. That thinking is now reflected in our purpose: providing quality healthcare at a lower cost to more South Africans through an integrated healthcare ecosystem.
Our ambition is enabled by three connected strengths: customer trust, scale and the ability to shape the industry through integration.
Importantly, strategy and investment preceded the storytelling around purpose. We had already built the businesses and capabilities needed to reduce the cost of care and expand access. ‘Better Health Starts Here’ and the articulation of our purpose then gave us a clear way to communicate and embed this repositioning across the group.
Do you have a sustainability ambition with its own targets, accountability and board-level visibility?
We have a formalised environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, supported by governance structures, performance metrics and board oversight. Sustainability is integrated into core business strategy rather than managed as a parallel programme. Our next evolution is to become more explicit about the societal health outcomes we want to create, particularly around healthcare access and affordability, and to establish clearer measures that track not just investment, but the changes achieved.
Our FY2026 report confirms that selected ESG KPIs are linked to remuneration, ESG is integrated into strategy and FY2027 will focus on delivering measurable ESG impact.
Where does the business case for genuinely affordable access become difficult and what trade-offs between margin, reach and mission have you taken to the board?
There is an inherent tension between affordability, reach and financial sustainability and responsible businesses should not pretend otherwise. Healthcare infrastructure, clinicians, technology and supply chains cost money. The challenge is not simply lowering prices, but redesigning healthcare economics. Scale, digital enablement, integrated services, partnerships and preventative care can lower the cost of delivering better outcomes.
Our responsibility is to identify models where affordability and commercial sustainability reinforce one another. Where market economics alone cannot solve the problem, partnerships and societal investment become essential.
The commercial ecosystem addresses what the market can sustainably solve, while societal-health mechanisms intervene where economics leave gaps.
How is sustainability formally governed?
The sustainability agenda has formal governance structures and direct board visibility. Overall accountability rests with the board, supported primarily by the social and ethics committee (SEC). Implementation is driven by the ESG executive and Group executive committees.
ESG risks fall within the audit and risk committee’s mandate and selected ESG measures are incorporated into executive and senior management performance and remuneration through the remuneration committee.
The SEC reports quarterly to the board and sustainability is integrated into strategic planning, risk management and decision-making.
Our next step is to strengthen outcome measures related to healthcare access and societal health, so that our accountability increasingly reflects health outcomes rather than activity levels or investment inputs.
When the financial cycle tightens, what protects the affordable access ambition from being repriced upmarket?
For us, affordability cannot hinge on whether a particular year is financially comfortable. It must be built into the economics and architecture of the business. Economic pressure is therefore the test of whether affordability is genuinely part of strategy or simply supported when conditions are favourable.
That means using scale, data, digital services, integrated care models and partnerships to lower the cost of serving customers instead of relying solely on margin sacrifice. It also means measuring affordability and access alongside financial performance. A sustainable healthcare model must ultimately achieve both: remain financially viable while progressively extending quality healthcare to more people.
Dis-Chem’s business model balances commercial performance and social impact. Its operating strategy uses value-focused offerings to maintain accessibility and affordability in a constrained consumer environment. Customer and employee health and safety, along with strategically aligned community investment, are non-negotiable.
We acknowledge the realities of constrained consumers, rising healthcare costs, regulatory uncertainty, the National Health Insurance (NHI), input costs, capital requirements and pressure on margins. These pressures are why affordability cannot simply be a corporate social investment (CSI) commitment. It must be deliberately designed into the business model.
