The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) Women’s Forum on Friday celebrated the winners of its 2025 Pitchathon competition, recognizing the creativity and resilience of young female innovators who are reshaping the future of healthcare in Nigeria. The prize presentation ceremony, held in Lagos, served as a celebration of the vision, innovation, and leadership that the Forum seeks to foster among women in the private healthcare sector.
Launched during the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria’s 2023 Annual Conference, the HFN Women’s Forum was created to address the leadership gap affecting women, who make up 70 percent of Nigeria’s healthcare workforce but remain significantly underrepresented in decision-making roles. Through initiatives like the Pitchathon, the Forum provides young female entrepreneurs in healthcare with opportunities to develop their ideas, access mentorship, and secure critical resources to grow their innovations.
Giving her opening remarks, Mrs. Njide Ndili, President of HFN, emphasized the importance of platforms like the Pitchathon in shaping the next generation of healthcare leaders. “It is inspiring to see such innovation and passion from young women who are still students but already thinking about the big solutions that Nigeria needs. The HFN Women’s Forum remains committed to creating spaces where women can thrive, lead, and transform healthcare delivery across the country,” she said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Yemi Dawodu, CEO of Cerba Lancet and Head of the HFN Women’s Forum 2025 Subcommittee, explained that the Pitchathon was designed to encourage young female innovators to pitch initiatives and products capable of addressing the nation’s healthcare challenges. Dr. Dawodu noted that the level of entries (over 50 submissions) received was highly impressive, with many participants demonstrating exceptional understanding of the healthcare system’s needs and potential solutions. After an initial round of evaluations, five finalists were invited to present their ideas during the HFN Annual Conference. These presentations were judged by a panel of experts across health financing, health technology, and fintech sectors, who provided guidance and critical feedback before selecting three winners.
Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha, Public Relations Secretary of HFN, who introduced the winners during the ceremony, highlighted the significance of encouraging early-stage ideas. “By recognizing these brilliant young innovators today, we are not just rewarding hard work; we are investing in a future where women are at the forefront of healthcare solutions in Nigeria. We are proud of the courage and creativity these young women have shown,” she said.
The Pitchathon submissions were evaluated on criteria such as presentation quality, financial feasibility, user-friendliness, relevance to Nigeria’s healthcare needs, and accessibility. After rigorous judging, three winners emerged.
The first-place prize was awarded to CODE-RED, an innovation led by Miss Orji Anita and her team. CODE-RED is a centralized digital platform that bridges critical communication gaps in emergency care by connecting emergency seekers, hospitals, and emergency medical services through a real-time web application. The platform allows users to instantly locate nearby hospitals with available bed spaces, access first-aid information, get directions, and connect to emergency hotlines. By leveraging real-time data and analytics, CODE-RED aims to reduce delays, prevent overcrowding, and ultimately save lives during medical emergencies.
The second-place winner, Her Aid, founded by Muktarah Banire and Zoheeroh Andu, both 400-level medical students, is a non-profit organization committed to improving maternal and child health outcomes in Nigeria. Through advocacy, primary healthcare outreaches, and community-based interventions, Her Aid works to ensure that women receive essential care from preconception through childbirth, aiming to reduce maternal mortality and promote healthier communities.
The third-place winner, MyDrugAida, by Erinibi Salami, a 400-level pharmacy student, is a cloud-based healthcare data hub designed to securely connect electronic medical records across multiple healthcare facilities. By enabling real-time access to patients’ histories, MyDrugAida aims to eliminate redundant testing, reduce medical errors, and enhance diagnostic and treatment outcomes, particularly for smaller clinics that lack EMR systems. Patients are issued smart cards to ensure secure, encrypted access to their health records, promoting data privacy and interoperability.
Sponsors of the Pitchathon, including L’Oréal, Hackerbella, and Dr Purejoie Skincare, played an essential role in making the competition and the award ceremony possible. Their support further reflects a growing movement toward empowering women-led innovation in Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
The HFN Women’s Forum continues to focus on building leadership capacity, business skills, and professional networks for women in healthcare, ensuring that they are equipped not just to participate in the industry, but to lead it. Through initiatives like the Pitchathon, the Forum is not just creating opportunities, it is building a future where women shape the direction of healthcare innovation in Nigeria.