Nigeria’s health-tech ecosystem is at a critical point, and innovation is a powerful catalyst for solving some of the country’s most pressing healthcare challenges.
With a rapidly growing population, limited access to quality care in rural regions, and an underfunded public health system, technology has become the bridge between systemic gaps and sustainable healthcare solutions.
Nigerian women are navigating the complexities of health systems and using digital tools to reshape them from the ground up. These women are not merely building apps or digital platforms but designing solutions that tackle issues unique to the Nigerian healthcare sector.
From telemedicine platforms that bring healthcare to remote communities to AI-driven diagnostics that empower clinicians in underserved areas, their work is rooted in the realities of local health challenges. They are bringing the power of data, mobile technology, and innovation to the forefront of healthcare delivery, making it more accessible, affordable, and equitable for millions.
Temie Giwa-Tubosun
Temie Giwa-Tubosun is the chief executive officer of Lifebank, Africa’s healthcare supply chain engine, a social entrepreneur, and a healthcare advocate. Lifebank was founded to help hospitals discover essential medical suppliers and deliver them in the right condition and on time. It uses Google Maps API technology to deliver medical products such as blood, vaccines, and oxygen.
Giwa-Tubosun is an alumna of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies with over 12 years of health management experience working with the Department for International Development (DFID), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Lagos State Government, amongst others.
Her remarkable contributions have been recognised by reputable organisations, including The World Economic Forum, the Cartier Women’s Initiative, The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Centre, TEDx, and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Ola Brown
Ola Brown is the founder of the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company (FDHIC). FDHIC invests and operates across the African healthcare and wellness value chain in hospital/clinic construction and refurbishment, diagnostics and equipment, health facility management, pharmaceutical retail, drug manufacturing, air ambulance services and logistics, and consulting/healthcare technology.
Brown is a medical doctor and accomplished academic with expertise in medicine, finance, and economic policy. She studied medicine at Hull York Medical School, pursued advanced research in Tokyo on stem cells through the Japanese MEXT scholarship, and holds a master’s in finance and economic policy from the University of London. Her postgraduate studies span healthcare leadership, emergency care, and infrastructure finance, earning certificates from prestigious institutions like Harvard, Wharton, and Bocconi.
Tito Ovia
Tito Ovia is the co-founder of Helium Health, a health tech company building the technology infrastructure driving African healthcare. She also serves as head of Public Sector Growth at Helium Health, where she fosters public-private partnerships that accelerate Africa’s transition to technology and a data-driven healthcare system.
Ovia has a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Manchester. Her work in African healthcare helped make her a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient and a Future Africa Award for Disruption winner.
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson is the founder and CEO of Healthtracka, a health tech company that improves access to healthcare by leveraging innovation and technology. Healthtracka is a health solutions company revolutionising access to diagnostic services through a decentralised, tech-enabled approach.
She is a graduate of the University of Ilorin and the University of Oxford.
Modupe Elebute Odunsi
Modupe Elebute Odunsi is the founder of Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre and Specialist Hospital, a state-of-the-art facility offering comprehensive cancer care and specialist treatments. Named in honour of her late mother-in-law, the hospital combines cutting-edge technology with compassionate care in a healing environment.
Odunsi graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos in 1986 and trained in Internal Medicine and Haemato-Oncology at top institutions in London, including St Bartholomew’s and The Royal Marsden. Awarded a Leukemia Research Fund fellowship, she earned an MD from the University of London for her pioneering research.
In the UK, she served as Consultant and Honorary Senior Lecturer at St George’s Hospital, the National Blood Service, and King’s College Hospital, alongside a private practice at Spire and Lister Hospitals. In Nigeria, she worked at Lagoon Hospitals, establishing a pathology lab and a sickle cell clinic. A prolific author, she has contributed extensively to scientific literature.
Adeola Alli
Adeola Alli is the CEO and Founder of OneHealth, an online Pharmacy and healthcare platform providing access to medicines and healthcare solutions for individuals and healthcare providers. Alli, a licensed pharmacist in the UK and the USA, founded OneHealth in Nigeria after struggling to find basic medications for her child. OneHealth uses technology and data-driven solutions to deliver the right medicines at the right time. By partnering with various health service providers, Alli has helped over 10,000 people access quality pharmacare through a network of 1,000+ pharmacies across Nigeria.
She has a master’s in pharmacy from the University of Manchester and an MBA from IE Business School.
Abimbola Adebakin
Abimbola Adebakin is the founder and CEO of Advantage Health Africa, a platform for collaboration and performance improvement in the health sector, with an initial emphasis on retail pharmacy practice in Nigeria. She leads initiatives like myPharmacy (a franchise pharmacy chain and resource centre), myMedicines (a tech-driven last-mile medication delivery platform), myAdvantage (a community-based health affordability solution), and Advantage Pharma, a pharmaceutical sales and marketing venture.
Adebakin was the Chief Operating Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Assistant Director of Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC).
Morenike Fayemisin
Morenike Fajemisin is the CEO and Founder of Whispa Health, the parent company of Whispa, a mobile and web app that allows young people (particularly women) to privately access quality healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health information, products, and services.
Fajemisin is committed to empowering young people across Africa with access to quality health information, products, and services. She strives to dispel myths, misconceptions, and biases in healthcare, particularly for young women seeking sexual and reproductive care.
She is a pharmacist, entrepreneur, and innovator who has been recognised with honours such as the 120under40 Family Planning Leader Award, WHO Africa’s Top 30 Innovator Award, Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award, Google Black Founder’s Award, and, most recently, Unorthodox Philanthropy’s Extraordinary Leader Award. She is also an associate fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
Fayemisin studied pharmacy at Obafemi Awolowo University and received a certificate in Global Health Leadership from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Folake Owodunni
Folake Owodunni is the co-founder and CEO of Emergency Response Africa (ERA), a healthcare technology company changing how medical emergencies are managed in Africa. ERA saves lives by connecting individuals experiencing a medical emergency to the largest network of Community First Responders, ambulances, and hospitals to deliver care in minutes using technology.
Owodunni has a Master’s in Global Health and Development from University College London, and a master’s in business Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
She has over 12 years of experience working in healthcare, marketing communications, and management consulting, with companies in Nigeria, the United States, and Canada. She is certified as a First Responder with the Canadian Red Cross and is passionate about Africa’s rising tech ecosystem and making fast, reliable emergency medical care accessible to all Africans using technology. She has received multiple awards and development grants, including the Google Black Founders Fund, JICA’s Next Innovation with Japan Award, and many others.’
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