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The Alternative Bank has called for increased investment and stronger partnerships to help scale healthcare solutions and extend access to quality care across underserved communities in Nigeria.
The bank made the call at the 2026 Insights Learning Forum (ILF) in Abuja, where government officials, investors, business leaders, health-tech innovators, and development organisations discussed ways to move healthcare solutions from pilot projects to wider adoption.
Speaking during a session on financing scalable solutions for inclusive health systems, Divisional Head, Commercial Banking, The Alternative Bank, Chukwuemeka Agada, said many healthcare innovations struggle to move beyond the pilot stage because of inadequate and inappropriate funding.
He said good ideas alone could not transform Nigeria’s healthcare system without patient capital, credible partners, and effective delivery structures.
According to him, healthcare projects targeting low-income and underserved communities require long-term financing models that connect capital to real assets, shared risks, and sustainable delivery.
Agada said The Alternative Bank saw non-interest finance as one of the financing options that could support healthcare projects while ensuring that they remained financially sustainable.
“Good ideas do not become health systems by themselves. They need patient capital, credible partners, and structures that can move them from pilot sites into communities where people need care.
“Healthcare will not scale on goodwill alone. We need capital that understands the problem, partners who can execute, and structures that make the solution last beyond the first funding cycle,” he said.
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Also speaking, Head of Corporate Social Investment at The Alternative Bank, Solomon Okonkwo, said financial inclusion would have greater impact when it provided people and communities with access to practical economic opportunities.
He also said healthcare could not be treated in isolation from other development priorities, including education, agriculture, infrastructure, and climate resilience.
“Finance must connect to real needs. When we talk about inclusion, we are talking about access, dignity, and the ability of communities to take part in economic growth.
“Health does not stand alone. It connects to education, agriculture, infrastructure, and climate. Any serious development plan must treat these areas as linked,” Okonkwo said.
The two-day forum was organised by eHealth Africa in collaboration with The Dala Group and focused on partnerships, investment, and the adoption of digital health solutions across wider health systems.
Participants examined the challenges limiting the expansion of healthcare innovations, particularly infrastructure gaps, inadequate funding, data challenges, and weak last-mile delivery in underserved communities.
The organisers said ILF 2026 was designed to strengthen cross-sector partnerships, promote inclusive digital health solutions, and mobilise investment for scalable healthcare systems.
