On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, MyItura, a Nigerian digital health startup, launched Mediloan, a health financing product designed to address the nation’s severe healthcare affordability crisis. The launch, held in Lagos, was themed “Introducing Mediloan by MyItura: Healthcare Financing in today’s Nigeria,” and highlighted a critical response to challenges in the nation’s healthcare sector.
MyItura’s CEO/Founder, Shina Arogundade, along with various partners, underscored the severe impact of out-of-pocket spending on Nigerian families and outlined a vision for a more accessible, affordable, and digitally-enabled healthcare future.
The scale of the crisis and the need for innovation
The core problem Mediloan addresses is the overwhelming reliance on out-of-pocket healthcare payments.
In her speech, “Design For Health Role in Building a Sustainable Healthcare in Nigeria,, Stephanie Okpere, head of Design for Health by Cchub, said: “Over 70% of healthcare costs are currently paid out-of-pocket in Nigeria”.
The consequences of this financial burden were further elaborated upon by Arogundade, who explained that this financial barrier creates two damaging outcomes: either people “abandon care” entirely, or healthcare providers lack the necessary “liquidity to deploy digital tools” because they cannot guarantee payment for services rendered.
In his welcome speech, Arogundade also vividly illustrated this crisis with a personal experience in 2018: an unexpected ₦120,000 surgical tooth removal that his insurance didn’t cover. This experience, combined with the reality that over 70% of the Nigerian population is currently uncovered by any form of health insurance, confirms the urgent need for viable microfinance solutions to prevent people from having to “choose between their health and their bank account”, according to Arogundade.
The Mediloan solution: Simplicity, speed, and security
Mediloan is positioned as a straightforward financial product designed for rapid access to medical funds. The application process is remarkably simple, designed to be completed in just “4 simple steps,, according to the MyItura Team, who explained during the product demonstration. The review and approval process on MyItura’s side is expedited, taking “within 3 to 5 minutes”.
Arogundade said the only potential source of delay is the time for the healthcare provider to confirm the invoice. The integrity of the system is maintained by ensuring the loan is “disbursed to the provider, not the patient,” mitigating the risk of funds being used for non-medical expenses.
The initiative is leveraging technology for seamless integration, having “building out APIs” so the service “can be used to check out [as a payment option] on certain health-tech apps,” Arogundade explained. This integration signifies MyItura’s commitment to making the service an inherent part of the digital healthcare ecosystem.
The role of partnership, data, and risk mitigation
A significant portion of the event, the panel session, focused on how Mediloan addresses the unique challenges of lending in a low-credit-history environment.
Since most Nigerians lack traditional credit histories, Emmanuel Enemakwu, representative of Data Science Nigeria (DSN), stressed the need to “look at other data,” including data derived from “mobile money loan” services, “utility bills,” and other behavioral indicators to assess “financial responsibility.” He noted that associations, religious groups, and even NGOs can also sponsor” packages for their members, offering an alternative form of guarantee.
Arogundade addressed the inherent risk in lending: “You have to use AI” to mitigate Non-Performing Loan (NPL) rates. The goal is to keep NPLs “very low” and use data to check the applicant’s “capacity to repay.”
From the healthcare side, Dr. Shina Ajidahun emphasised the importance of accountability, stating that providers must check the “competency of the doctors” and “validate those credentials” of the hospitals they partner with. Mediloan further aims to target “medically responsible people” to ensure sustainability.
