Since BudgIT (a startup I co-founded) emerged in the Nigerian civic tech space, I have been imagining where the next frontier of growth emerges. Surely, Nigeria suffers from multiple socio-economic challenges and applying tech solutions is part of the approach towards the improvement the country so desires. Health, education, power, infrastructure etc. need tech interventions and the country needs to find another “engine of creative awesomeness”. However, a clear disincentive in stepping out and trying is the lack of clear business proposition as regards civic projects. The lack of required data to build these projects is also a challenge as techies and policy makers have to dig deeper either by crowdsourcing data or working in the minefield of converting data from non-readable to machine-readable formats.

Despite the challenges, Nigerian civic entrepreneurs are on the move and there is a pump of energy as regards health in Nigeria. The Nigerian Government is also working with the World Bank and a host of development partners to liberate datasets through the launch of the open data portal that will be the next step towards making Nigeria eligible for the Open Government Partnership. The initial engagement was the Nigeria’s 1st Data Clinic which offered “free seats to journalists, developers / coders, and digital creatives who want to help voice priorities and opportunities for Open Data in Nigeria.” It was an event which I made an opening presentation on the potential of Open Data in Nigeria and how it can foster improved service delivery, transparency and also encourage new sets of data entrepreneurs.

The atmosphere now oozes health with the Health Hackathon on the Open Data Day which was held in Idea Hub Yaba (Nigeria’s tech district). This was also an opportunity to determine the size of data available as regards health in Nigeria. At the Health Hackathon in Lagos, MediFix came out on tops with “medical demand-supply management ICT solution aimed and appropriately allocating and sharing medical resources and facility among medical service providers in Nigeria.“ Other ideas and solutions such as Clinixie, Find-A-Med, Hospitox, Meditell, MoiHealth are also worth mentioning. Also the International Center for Journalists is launching an health-based reporting competition that will recieve innovative entries from journalists and will also provide support to their newsrooms through its innovation fellows. Co-Creation Hub has also launched the Social Change Lab with the first theme focused on health. Already, six new ideas have pitched smart solutions on their platform and are gaining social awareness. There is also the Private Sector Health Alliance in Nigeria, which is interested in funding health projects innovation.

With government providing the datasets, civic entrepreneurs showing grit, tech hubs making this a priority, private sector and donors (Indigo Trust and Tony Elumelu Foundation) ready to provide early-stage funding and the potential users in abundance, the ecosystem can be taken as complete. The next big story is not far off.

P.S I am providing strategic thinking and support for a health-focused startup, Iyaniwura.