Nigeria’s health innovation drive gained new energy on Thursday as the Society for Family Health (SFH), through its enterprise arm SFH Access, introduced the CoElevate Catalytic Fund — a new mechanism intended to support the country’s growing pool of health innovators. The launch, held at SFH’s Lagos office, brought together entrepreneurs, funders, policymakers, and partners committed to solving long-standing health challenges with local ideas.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of SFH Access, Pharm. Dennis Aizobu said the fund was created to address the gaps that often hinder promising ideas. “This is the beginning of a new chapter in West Africa’s innovation story,” he said. “Many ideas in Nigeria don’t fail because of a lack of competence. They fail because innovators lack exposure, capital, and the systems that help ideas grow.”
According to him, CoElevate will offer “access to mentorship, access to support, access to capital, and access to platforms that will ensure scale.”
Aizobu explained that the fund combines milestone-based grants, equity investments, and access to SFH’s technology and operational experience. He added that “Africans must invest in Africa,” noting that SFH Access will run two funding cycles each year to give more innovators the chance to join an ecosystem built for long-term growth.
Chairperson of the SFH Access Board, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai described the launch as “a landmark moment for building equitable access to healthcare.” He said the initiative reflects SFH’s long-standing work in supporting vulnerable communities and backing young Nigerians who want to create solutions that serve the public good. “Innovation is essential to meeting our health challenges,” he said. “CoElevate offers a pathway for identifying and lifting ideas that can make a real impact.”
SFH Managing Director, Dr. Omokhudu Idogho, highlighted the infrastructure that innovators will access under the programme. “We operate on Microsoft Azure, we work with AWS, we build APIs and digital tools, and we maintain one of the strongest logistics networks in the health sector,” he said. He noted that SFH’s national supply-chain system — which includes a pharmagrade warehouse, 22 satellite warehouses, and distribution links across Nigeria — will be available to participating startups. “These are assets that would cost billions for a new company to build. We want innovators to focus on the science and the product, while we help with the systems that move it forward.”
Idogho said the value of the fund should ultimately be measured by progress in Nigeria’s major health indicators. “If the innovations we support help reduce maternal deaths, improve immunisation and expand access to essential services, then we would have achieved what this programme was designed for,” he said.
Representing the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Victoria Egunjobi said the initiative arrives at a time when innovators face limited opportunities. “Innovation drives progress in every health system,” she said. “This fund gives Nigerian ideas the chance to grow and reach communities that need them.”
Dr. Jennifer Anyanti, SFH’s Deputy Managing Director, said CoElevate was set up to support ideas that often struggle because their creators lack clear structures or guidance. “Many innovators have strong concepts,” she said. “What they need is the right support to refine them and position them for real-world implementation.”
With grants of $5,000–$10,000, equity investments, mentorship, regulatory support and a 24-month management programme, the CoElevate Catalytic Fund aims to strengthen HealthTech, WASH, pharmaceutical R&D and NCD-focused innovations. According to SFH Access, the goal is simple: to build a system that helps Nigerian innovators turn ideas into practical solutions for the country’s health needs.
