MCI Opportunities in Nigeria Series – Part 2 of 7
In Nigeria, millions of people lack access to essential goods and services—not because they don’t exist, but because they remain out of reach. Across sectors like health, agriculture, financial services, and education, the everyday challenge for most Nigerians is nonconsumption. But where nonconsumption exists, so too does an opportunity to create new markets and improved livelihoods.
This blog is the second in a series exploring key opportunity areas identified in our market-creating innovation (MCI) landscape report in Nigeria. Each post focuses on a specific struggle and the potential for market-creating innovations to solve it. This edition focuses on the diagnostics sector—where the consequences of inaccessibility are both urgent and far-reaching.
When diagnosis is out of reach, the cost is life and livelihood
In the United States, people spend around $250 per year on diagnostics. In Mexico, a middle-income country, the figure is $17. In Nigeria, it’s just $3 per capita. This massive shortfall means that nearly 200 million Nigerians either receive no diagnostic care or rely on low-quality, unregulated services. That absence of timely, accurate diagnosis contributes to a range of preventable harms: undetected diseases, missed treatments, worsening health conditions, and in some cases, unnecessary deaths.
This isn’t just a health crisis though, it’s also an economic one. The minimum wage in Nigeria is roughly just $47 per month, and the average household spends more than half their income on food, leaving very little for healthcare. Even when people seek diagnostic services, they often find few options. Nigeria has fewer than 1,000 registered diagnostic centers nationwide—just 0.004 per 1,000 people. The workforce is strained, and the system is overrun by more than 500,000 unregistered labs operating without oversight or quality control.
This lack of affordable, safe, and reliable access has broader effects. Nigeria loses over $1.2 billion annually as wealthier citizens travel abroad for diagnostics. And because many treatable illnesses go undetected for the majority of the population, the burden on households and the health system only deepens over time.
A $2.3 billion opportunity to diagnose, treat, and employ
These challenges in diagnostics show a high-potential opportunity for market creation. If Nigeria could increase spending from the current $3 to just $10 per person—a fraction of what middle-income countries spend—it would unlock a $2.3 billion market. At that scale, and assuming modest productivity benchmarks, the diagnostics sector would generate over 160,000 new jobs across its value chain of labs, logistics, tech platforms, customer service, and training programs.
This growth isn’t just hypothetical. Companies like MDaaS Global are already showing what’s possible. Through its BeaconHealth Diagnostics platform, MDaaS has built Nigeria’s largest diagnostic network. With AI-powered workflows, digitized lab operations, bulk procurement of equipment, and streamlined clinic setup, MDaaS has served more than 450,000 patients and significantly reduced the cost of delivering care. By partnering with banks, insurers, and health providers, the company is building a new ecosystem around diagnostics—one that’s affordable, scalable, and rooted in safe and accessible quality.
Diagnostics as the frontline of inclusive health and economic growth
Diagnostics may not be as visible as hospitals or pharmaceuticals, but it is the foundation of effective healthcare. By scaling access to diagnostics, Nigeria can build a healthier workforce.
The market can be created. The demand is clear. And entrepreneurs like MDaaS are proving that it’s possible to serve hundreds of thousands of Nigerians while building sustainable, inclusive businesses. With the right investments and ecosystem support, diagnostics could become one of Nigeria’s most powerful—and overlooked—engines of health and economic resilience.
Stay tuned for the next blog in our series, where we explore the market-creating potential of poultry.
For more of our MCI Opportunities in Nigeria Series, read:
Unlocking Opportunity: A New Vision for Eyecare in Nigeria
