A Nigerian healthtech startup, Primed E-Health, is positioning itself as a major force in modernising healthcare delivery against hospitals’ overreliance on paper files, cash payment, and manual processes.
Founded in 2019 by medical doctor Abdulhafiz Are and Esther Anammah, the startup is building digital systems designed to solve some of the most persistent problems in African hospitals, from missing patient records and revenue leakages to medicine shortages and operational inefficiencies.
Already active in more than 40 hospitals, including some of Nigeria’s leading federal teaching institutions, the company is now seeking to raise US$5 million to expand its footprint, deploy artificial intelligence tools, and push into new African markets.
For founder Abdulhafiz Are, the mission is deeply personal, rooted in firsthand experience of working inside a healthcare system he believed needed urgent reform.
What to Know About Primed E-Health
Primed E-Health is a health technology company focused on digitising hospitals, clinics, and specialist healthcare centres across Africa.
Its flagship product, Smartclinic, is a hospital enterprise management system designed to simplify daily healthcare operations and improve efficiency.
The platform helps hospitals manage patient records, billing, inventory, clinical workflows, and internal administration through one integrated system. Rather than relying on scattered paper files or disconnected tools, hospitals using Smartclinic can run many of their core services digitally.
The company was established by Are, a practicing doctor who witnessed the strain caused by outdated systems, and co-founder Esther Anammah. Their goal was to create a practical solution tailored to African healthcare realities.
What Problems Primed E-Health Aims to Solve
According to Are, many Nigerian hospitals still operate with systems that create risks for both patients and administrators.
“Nigeria has over 23,000 hospitals and almost none of them are digitised,” he said.
He described a situation where patient records are often difficult to retrieve, if they exist at all. In some hospitals, returning patients may find their old files misplaced or unavailable, slowing treatment and increasing the chances of poor clinical decisions.
“When a patient walks in, their records from a previous visit are probably in a paper folder somewhere, if they exist at all. Doctors prescribe without knowing what medications a patient is already taking.”
Beyond patient care, Are pointed to wider management problems. Hospitals may unexpectedly run out of blood supplies or essential drugs because inventory is not properly tracked. Cash-based systems can also create revenue leakages, where money is lost or unaccounted for.
“Hospitals run out of blood and drugs without warning. Cash transactions mean revenue leaks constantly because nothing is being tracked. And when the power goes out, everything stops,” said the co-founder.
These challenges, he said, were the direct motivation behind creating Primed E-Health.
How is This Startup Different?
Africa’s health technology ecosystem already includes companies focused on diagnostics, laboratory systems, medical transcription, and hospital billing. However, Are believes Primed E-Health has built a broader operating model.
“Primed’s position is different. Software, hardware, AI, and solar together, embedded so deeply into hospital operations that the hospital depends on it daily,” he said.
This means the company is not merely selling a software package from the outside. Instead, it integrates multiple layers of infrastructure directly into hospital workflows.
That includes digital systems, supporting devices, AI-powered features, and energy support such as solar solutions that can reduce disruption caused by unstable power supply.
Are added that no other player in the market combines all these layers into one platform at the same scale.
Primed E-Health’s Traction and Milestones
The startup says it is already operating in more than 40 hospitals, including some of Nigeria’s most respected public health institutions.
These include Jos University Teaching Hospital, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, University College Hospital Ibadan, and several Federal Medical Centres across different states.
Landing such clients is significant because federal hospitals often require lengthy approval processes and multiple layers of oversight.
“Federal teaching hospitals have procurement committees, ministry oversight, and multiple layers of institutional approval. Getting into them and staying in them is not straightforward,” Are added.
Beyond hospital contracts, Primed E-Health has also developed relationships with key policymakers.
“Primed has also built relationships at the Federal Ministry of Health and Committee of Chief Medical Directors level, which is where national health policy decisions are made.”
Financially, the company says it has largely grown through internally generated revenue rather than relying heavily on venture capital.
“Most health tech startups burn investor money for years before seeing meaningful revenue. Primed was generating revenue from early on.”
The startup, according to Are, has also secured a US$100,000 grant from German development agency GIZ, while also receiving backing from the UNDP Timbuktoo Accelerator and the Baobab Network.
Plans for Primed E-Health’s Future Growth
The company is now preparing for its first major institutional fundraising round, targeting US$5 million at a US$25 million pre-money valuation.
“This is our first formal institutional raise,” Are said.
According to him, the capital will be used to grow the hospital network, deepen AI capabilities, transition patients from physical SmartCards to mobile digital identity systems, and scale a national Health Information Exchange.
The company’s short-term growth target is ambitious. Within the next 24 months, Primed E-Health plans to expand from 40 hospitals to 140, before pushing toward 800 state and private hospitals.
It also intends to launch a major AI layer across its network. This includes tools for automated clinical documentation, where doctor-patient consultations are captured and converted into structured notes without manual writing.
“This includes AI clinical documentation that automatically captures and structures doctor-patient consultations, removing the burden of manual note-taking entirely.”
Other planned features include continuous patient monitoring that detects warning signs early, AI-assisted diagnostics, risk flagging using network-wide patient data, and predictive supply chain systems that forecast shortages before they happen.
“The prescription and lab test recommendation feature is already live today, with the rest rolling out through phase one.”
International expansion is also on the roadmap, with Kenya and Uganda identified as the first target markets outside Nigeria.
“The approach is to get Nigeria right first, then expand from a stable base,” Are noted.
Why This Matters
Primed E-Health’s growth reflects a larger shift taking place across Africa, where startups are increasingly solving public service problems through technology. In healthcare, the stakes are especially high.
Efficient recordkeeping, better diagnostics, stronger accountability, and improved supply chains can directly affect patient outcomes and save lives.
For Nigeria in particular, where hospital systems often struggle under pressure, digital infrastructure could help improve both service quality and financial sustainability.
If Primed E-Health succeeds in scaling its model, professionals believe that, it may not only become a strong business success story, but also a blueprint for how African healthcare systems can move from fragile paper-based operations to smarter, data-driven institutions.
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