Nigeria's Healthtech Boom Faces Survival Test After Pandemic Funding Surge

Nigeria's healthtech ecosystem added 65 startups between 2020-2025 (65% growth), bringing total active startups to 128 across telehealth, analytics, e-pharmacy, and digital financing. However, the sector now faces a defining moment with 40 inactive startups (97% founded pre-pandemic) and funding dropping 67% from $55M in 2023 to $18M in 2024 and $3M in 2025.

While COVID-19 transformed digital healthcare from "nice-to-have" to "must-have," the post-pandemic reality includes infrastructure challenges, low insurance coverage, and slowing investment. Notable closures include Healthlane and 54gene, which raised $45M before shutting down in 2023. The report identifies spikes in closures during 2018, 2019, and 2023, reflecting the sector's maturation challenges.

Telehealth has the highest number of startups but ranks sixth in funding received, revealing investor skepticism about scalability. Founders now need to demonstrate clearer paths to monetization in a healthcare system with low insurance penetration. As Ventures Platform's Kola Aina notes, "Capital doesn't just follow the number of startups—it follows the depth of the problem being solved and the defensibility of the solution." This signals a market correction where only sustainable, impact-proven healthtech solutions will survive.

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/05/29/nigeria-added-65-healthtech-startups-after-covid-19-says-report/