By Efe Onodjae

A Nigerian health-technology startup, Mytura, has launched MediLoan, a digital credit solution aimed at reducing the high rate of patients abandoning medical treatment due to lack of funds and improving liquidity for hospitals nationwide.

The innovation, unveiled in Lagos, is part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–funded Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) programme, under which Mytura is one of nine selected startups receiving go-to-market support from CcHub and Data Science Nigeria (DSN).

Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive Officer of Mytura, Shina Arogundade, said the solution directly responds to Nigeria’s overwhelming out-of-pocket health expenditure burden, where more than 70 per cent of citizens pay for healthcare themselves and fewer than 10 per cent have active health insurance.

Arogundade said MediLoan provides patients with instant credit at the point of care, enabling treatment to begin immediately while healthcare providers receive quicker and more reliable payments.

“One in three Nigerians abandon healthcare because of cost. Patients no longer need to walk away from treatment, and providers can now operate with better liquidity,” he noted.

Mytura, which has already onboarded over 150 healthcare facilities and served more than 17,000 patients, aims to widen its reach significantly. According to Arogundade, even capturing five per cent of Nigerians who currently pay out-of-pocket represents “millions of potential users annually.”

He explained that MediLoan leverages Nigeria’s digital public infrastructure, BVN and NIN verification, credit bureau checks, and automated invoicing, allowing loan approval in under 24 hours. The pilot phase is ongoing in Lagos, with national expansion planned for 2026.

CcHub, which supported the pilot with an innovation grant, alongside asset-management partners who provided credit capital, helped Mytura keep lending rates at 5 per cent.
Looking forward, Arogundade said Mytura targets N100 million annual disbursement within five years, while deepening partnerships with both public and private hospitals.

Project Manager at CcHub, Jean Omefe, described MediLoan as a critical intervention capable of “closing Nigeria’s healthcare access gap,” stressing the need for increased government and private-sector support for innovation-driven organisations.
“When low-income earners can access health financing immediately, the access gap shrinks. Mytura will receive go-to-market support as part of the DPI cohort,” she said.

Chief Operating Officer of Lifecentre Medical Services, Emmanuel Badejo, noted that hospitals often see patients delay urgent treatment over cost concerns, describing MediLoan as a timely solution that “eliminates that dangerous delay.”
He added that integrating employers and small businesses into the model could strengthen loan guarantees and drive faster adoption.

Also speaking, DSN Technical Product Lead, Emmanuel Enemakwu, said the data-driven model behind MediLoan positions it to scale quickly.

“This innovation will transform healthcare financing in Nigeria. The more providers adopt embedded health-credit systems, the faster the impact,” he said.