Firm Launches Credit Solution to Address Healthcare Financing Gap

Oluchi Chibuzor 

Mytura, a Nigerian health-tech company, has unveiled MediLoan, a digital credit solution designed to prevent patients from abandoning medical care due to lack of funds and to improve liquidity for healthcare providers.

Speaking at the launch of the product in Lagos, recently, the CEO, MyItura, Shina Arogundade, said the platform was created to tackle Nigeria’s crippling out-of-pocket health expenditure. 

According to him, over 70 percent of Nigerians fund their healthcare directly, while fewer than 10 percent have active health insurance. 

Arogundade said the MediLoan initiative, developed in partnership with CCHub, Data DSN and the Digital Impact Alliance offers patients immediate credit at the point of care, allowing treatment to commence without financial delays. 

He explained that the goal is to ensure patients receive timely care while hospitals benefit from faster and more reliable payments.

“One in three Nigerians abandon healthcare due to cost.Patients no longer need to abandon care, and providers now have more liquidity to run their facilities,” he said.

Arogundade disclosed that Mytura previously onboarded over 150 healthcare providers and served 17,000 patients, but the new product aims for wider reach.

According to the Project Manager. CCHUB, Jean Omefe, MediLoan has strong potential to bridge Nigeria’s healthcare access gap as one of nine startups supported under the Gates-funded Digital Public Infrastructure initiative.

Omefe stressed, “Greater government, corporate and donor support for innovation-enabling organisations like CcHub would accelerate the growth of more health-tech solutions capable of bridging Nigeria’s healthcare access gap.”

On his part, Chief Operating Officer, Lifecentre Medical Services, Emmanuel Badejo, said that patients often delay urgent tests or treatments such as viral or bacterial infections because they cannot pay.