Annual Sustainability Report 2024
This Report celebrates five years of Afya as a publicly traded company (part of a 25 year history dedicated to medical education in Brazil) and is designed to focus the story on the impact generated along the way.
In this edition, we are organizing the content around the six values that reflect our essence and direct our actions. The publication looks at historical milestones and growth strategies, areas of activity, public commitments, governance, diversity, organizational culture and financial performance, whilst always keeping an eye on the transformation generated for society. For a full understanding of the metrics and standards, we recommend that you take a look at the Afya 2024 Databook, which brings together all the data in line with the requirements set forth by the GRI and SASB.
2024
Highlights
FINANCIAL
Net revenue
BRL 3.3 billion,
a rise of 14.9%
Adjusted Ebitda
1.45 billion,
an increase of 24.9%
Net income
BRL 648.9 million,
an increase of 60.1%
Announcement
of the payment of
BRL 129.8 million
in dividends to shareholders in 2025*
*Paid in April 2025.
Cash conversion hit
102.2%
with a solid position of BRL 911 million
SOCIAL
9,717
employees
60%
women
BRL 3.58
in SROI
(Social Return on Investment)
846,264
free medical and healthcare consultations
ENVIRONMENTAL
100%
renewable energy in the operations
40%
increase in the generation of solar energy
46%
increase in the consumption of self-generated renewable energy
100%
self-sufficiency in the supply of energy
at 4 HEIs*
*Higher Education Institutions
+80%
self-sufficiency in the supply of energy
at 6 HEIs*
*Higher Education Institutions
TIME magazine
elected the 3rd most influential edtech in the world in the ranking published by the US magazine that evaluates financial solidity, impact on the industry and the use of educational technology.
Valor 1000 Award
winner of the best education company award for the third time.
Valor Innovation Annual Yearbook:
4th most innovative education company for the second year running.
TOP Open Corps
2nd placed education company that most relates with startups in Brazil.
Companies Market Cap
recognized as the 55th most valuable company in Brazil.
Institutional Investor
Afya's Investor Relations and Finance team was recognized in one of the global finance industry's leading publications.
Nise da Silveira Award
recognition from the House of Representatives for our good practices and inclusion in the field of mental health for physicians and employees.
Great Place to Work
awarded 40th place amongst the 175 best companies to work for in Brazil in the category of companies with up to 10,000 employees.
Gupy
seal awarded to companies which provide the best feedback for the 7th year running.
Gold Seal in the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program
the highest level of certification awarded to companies that meet all the transparency criteria in the publication of their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventories.
ESG Summit Awards 2024
winner in the 'Social' category for the "Financial investment tied to sustainability targets focused on education and healthcare in regions of high social vulnerability" project.
The International Academic Innovation Forum
31 works developed by the teaching staff received awards at the STHEM Brazil Consortium Forum.
Impact Assessment
In 2014, we concluded our first Impact Assessment, gauging the social effects that our teaching institutions have had on the country. The study, that analyzed data from 2004 to 2021, demonstrated positive impacts, such as the increased concentration of medical care, the reduction in hospital admissions and mortality, and improvements in the local healthcare systems and the wellbeing of the communities where Afya operates.
How these courses support transformations in the life experience and healthcare of the communities where they are conducted
As well as the impact on the life experience and healthcare in the communities where we are active, we also calculate our SROI to better understand whether the investments made in the group's medical schools result in social benefits for the public. Our analysis takes into consideration the results of the impact evaluation in 2021, as well as the direct impacts generated in the local economies.
The difficulties in access due to river flooding and the distance to the town means that we get to visit the physician much less. The work of the university here in the community was a chance for me to take my children along for a check-up, since they have not been to the physicians for three years.”
Elisangela Rodrigues
a resident of the river-dwelling community Alto e Baixo Ajuaí, in Abaetetuba (PA)
Our partnership with the Afya university has brought many benefits to the health of the people of Jaboatão dos Guararapes (PE) and the region. We have every confidence and pleasure in placing our patients in the hands of the medical preceptors and future physicians, who have an ethical and medical commitment to transforming the public's health and to improving the municipal health standards.”
Zelma Pessôa
Health Secretary for Jaboatão dos Guararapes (PE)
A message from the CEO
In 2024, we demonstrated the transformations we have made in the regions where Afya Higher Education Institutions are located. We have gauged the social impact of our Medicine undergraduate course over an 18 year period, and the findings fill us with pride. (…) This fully demonstrates our theory that taking Medicine into the heartlands of Brazil promotes access and improves healthcare. It shows that we are on the right path as a responsible company that effectively contributes to promoting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 3, concerning Good Health and Wellbeing.
Virgilio Gibbon, CEO Afya
Read the full message
5 years of Afya
- The Afya brand is created, this being a term from the African Swahili language meaning health and wellbeing, after the group had been operating for 20 years under the name 'NRE', the initials of the company founders.
- We go public, with our Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the US Nasdaq stock exchange.
- We move into the digital solutions for physicians market with the acquisition of the PEBMED (currently Afya Portal) healthtech, owner of the Whitebook platform.
- We begin the operations of our first two units arising from the 'Mais Médicos 2' public notice – Itpac Santa Inês (MA) and Itpac Cruzeiro Sul (AC) – providing learning opportunities and access to medicine in remote towns in the Northeastern and Northern Regions.
- We acquire our first university, Unigranrio, in Rio de Janeiro.
- We add another six healthtechs to our portfolio, establishing ourselves as partners in the practice of Medicine: iClinic, Medicinae, CliqueFarma, Medical Harbour, Shosp and RX PRO.
- We publish our first public commitment to the UN's Global Compact, relating to SDG 5, committing ourselves to 50% of leadership positions being occupied by women by 2030.
- Bertelsmann and Softbank become Afya shareholders.
- We acquire the Além da Medicina, CardioPapers and Glic healthtechs.
- We move into the B2B segment, making us partners in the pharmaceutical industry as well.
- We increase the number of Higher Education Institutions offering Medicine courses, through the acquisition of Unima (AL) and Afya Jaboatão (PE), the latter being a 'Mais Médicos' institution.
- The physician's continuous education journey becomes even more focused with the creation of the Vice-Presidency of Continuing Education.
- We establish our presence in Salvador and other cities in Bahia state with the acquisition of the UNIDOMPEDRO Group.
- As part of the Global Compact, we assume our second public commitment, in relation to SDG 3: to provide five million free medical consultations by 2030.
- Our CEO, Virgilio Gibbon, is chosen to be the spokesperson for "Leading with ImPact" as part of SDG 3 – Health and Wellbeing, an initiative of the UN's Global Compact Brazil Network.
- We are awarded the 1st ever sustainability-linked loan from the IFC (an organ forming part of the World Bank) linked to social indicators with an impact and a focus on education and healthcare.
- Afya publishes the results of its first study aimed at evaluating the social impact of its activities.
Browse by chapter
9x9 Mission: to grow ninefold in nine years
Our strategic directives:
- To guarantee the sustainability of the business
- To integrate and strengthen the ecosystem
- To strengthen the culture
- To increase revenue and the use of solutions
In 2024, we strengthened our brand:
16
events
+15,000
people impacted
Average rating of the public experience:
4.92
(on a scale of 5)
+36,000
people impacted by Afya's participation in two road races
11%
of the private market offering Medicine courses
Scientific production
3,378
international publications of academic studies
24,255
Medicine students enrolled
50,5211
students pursuing continuing education
90%
approval in the preparatory courses for residences
238,343
active monthly users of our Medical Practice Solutions
120
contracts with 49 companies from the pharmaceutical industry and other players from the health sector
1 Also includes the users of Content and Technology for Medical Education, which up until 2023 had been calculated together with the users of digital services. The change was due to the inclusion of these digital services in the Continuing Education structure.
To provide
+5 million
free healthcare consultations by 2030
For
50%
of leadership positions (manager and above) to be occupied by women by 2030
To reduce the intensity of Scope 1 emissions by
30%
To reduce the intensity of electricity consumption by
40%
To reduce the intensity of the volume of water withdrawn by
30%
To reduce the amount of solid waste sent to sanitary landfills by
25%
40th place
in the national GPTW ranking of the 175 best companies to work for in Brazil in the category of companies with up to 10,000 employees
Favorability average of
86 percentage
points
The perception in relation to the employees' mental health was favorable, with an average of
81 p.p.
An e-NPS of 66,
positioning Afya in the Quality Zone as an employer brand
Our employees:
60% 1
are women
48% 1
self-declare as Black or Brown
13% 2
identify as LGBTQIAPN+
12% 1
are aged over 50
4% 1
are people with disabilities
1 Considering the entire workforce.
2 Data drawn from the Afya Census, a survey that was conducted with a representative selection of the employees.
13.1%
increase in the enrollments in the Medicine course in 2024, compared to 2023
15.3% increase
in the net revenue in Undergraduate courses, 8.3% in Continuing Education, and 15.3% in Medical Practice Solutions
The acquisition of the
UNIDOMPEDRO GROUP and FUNIC
added 360 new annual Medicine Undergraduate Program places
BRL 500 million
raised via a sustainability-linked loan from the IFC
