The 2017 inflection point: Is Nigeria’s HealthTech following the Fintech roadmap?
Healthtechs in Nigeria are faced with bottlenecks such as fragmented payer systems, regulatory fog, and uncertain exit pathways —similar hurdles that fintechs battled with between 2015 and 2017.
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As a Nigerian medical doctor, I have navigated the healthcare ecosystem from multiple vantage points: implementing global health programs with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, consulting for healthtech startups in Lagos at INC Consulting, contributing to Novartis-funded malaria research, and founding Medintech Africa, a student-led and student-focused health tech incubator.<br />
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These experiences have given me a front-row seat to the bottlenecks founders face: fragmented payer systems, regulatory fog, and uncertain exit pathways. Strikingly, these hurdles echo those faced by Nigerian fintech between 2015 and 2017. Back then, fintech attracted record interest but remained stifled by fragile infrastructure and trust deficits. Today, fintech is our crown jewel.<br />
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I believe healthtech is at that same precipice. But to cross it, we must stop building “shiny apps” and start building the “rails.”<br />
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The historical analogue: Why 2017 matters<br />
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In 2017, fintech accounted for 45% of Africa’s startup funding, yet growth was constrained by outdated regulations and customer scepticism. The “gold rush” only truly arrived when fragmented startups found common ground through regulatory sandboxes and bank partnerships.<br />
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By 2018, fintech captured 58% of Nigerian startup funding ($103M). Healthtech is following a similar trajectory but with two critical divergences:<br />
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The Capital Stack: While early fintech relied on foreign VC, healthtech is even more dependent on catalytic grants. From my work at INC Consulting, I’ve seen that founders often struggle to secure pre-seed rounds without “grant scaffolding” to mitigate risk in the venture.<br />
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The Regulatory Maze: While fintech had a central anchor in the CBN, healthtech founders must navigate a fragmented alphabet soup of agencies (NAFDAC, MDCN, NHIA, etc.) without a “one-stop shop.”<br />
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From healthtech 1.0 to 2.0: The infrastructure pivot<br />
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We are witnessing a shift from healthtech 1.0 (isolated, grant-heavy pilots) to healthtech 2.0...
