When an accident happens on a Lagos expressway or a patient collapses unexpectedly in Abuja, the difference between life and death often comes down to one thing; response time. Yet, in a country where emergency systems are unreliable, help too often arrives too late, or not at all.
That’s the gap Salvus Emergency, a tech-driven health startup co-founded by Emmanuel Oziuwa-John and Dr David Onoja, is determined to close.
In this exclusive, Techparley speaks with Oziuwa-John about how Salvus Emergency is building Africa’s most reliable emergency response network, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), data, and collaboration.
“When we say Salvus Emergency is building Nigeria’s emergency layer, we mean we are building the digital and operational infrastructure that makes every emergency response possible,” Oziuwa-John told Techparley.
What You Should Know
In a country where no such integrated system exists, Salvus says it acts as the connective tissue linking ambulances, responders, hospitals, and citizens.
“This is not available in Nigeria. We are bringing ambulances, responders, hospitals and citizens together. We are the network that connects all the moving parts,” Oziuwa-John said.
The platform connects verified emergency responders and nearby medical facilities to people in distress through real-time data and intelligent dispatching.
“It’s about system reliability, not ownership,” Oziuwa-John explains. “Whether you collapse in Lagos or crash in Aba, Salvus can intelligently route help to you, even if it’s not our ambulance.”
In essence, Salvus is building a digital backbone for emergency care, ensuring that the right help, from the right provider, gets to the right person at the right time.
Tech for Emergency Response
At the core of Salvus’s innovation is a proprietary technology that blends AI-powered triage, geo-mapping, and a nationwide health data bank; all built in just over a year.
“Our technology uses a mix of AI triage, geo mapping and a nationwide data bank we’ve built in the last 12 months to make split second decisions,” Oziuwa-John explains.
“When an emergency request comes in, Salvus analyses the request and the person’s health profile to classify the urgency. “It then identifies the nearest precise responder and matches the case to the right hospital, factoring in bed space, medical specialty, and distance in real time.”
By eliminating the guesswork and delays that affects conventional systems, Salvus says it ensures that patients are not only picked up quickly but also taken to facilities where they can receive the right treatment immediately.
The result? A smarter, faster, and more accountable emergency network, one that saves both time and lives.
What This Means
Fourteen months since launching, Oziuwa-John says Salvus’s biggest challenge hasn’t been technology, it’s been trust.
“Nigerians have seen too many ambulance startups that show up late, overcharge, or never come at all,” Oziuwa-John admits. “We are rebuilding trust from the ground up.”
To do that, Salvus has partnered with credible trauma centres and hospitals, while investing heavily in public education and awareness. The company has also built transparency into its user experience: users can see responder details, track their arrival, and even submit post-response feedback.
For hospitals, Salvus says it has established data-sharing agreements that improve visibility into incoming cases — allowing facilities to prepare ahead of time and allocate resources more efficiently.
“Over time, Nigerians will know Salvus not by promises, but by performance,” Oziuwa-John says confidently.
Salvus Five-Year Vision
Beyond saving lives at the moment, Salvus is thinking long term. The company says its database of emergency events, responses, and outcomes could soon serve as a valuable tool for governments, insurers, and health institutions.
“Data from our platform will help stakeholders predict and prevent crises before they happen,” Oziuwa-John explains. “That’s where the real power of technology lies — not just in response, but in foresight.”
Looking ahead, Salvus envisions a future where a single tap or USSD code instantly connects anyone in West Africa to verified emergency help, no matter their location or income level.
“In five years, Salvus will be the default emergency infrastructure across West Africa,” Oziuwa-John says. “Success for us means that no one dies because help couldn’t get to them. If millions of Africans can trust that Salvus will show up and live to tell that story, that’s our definition of success.”
A New Model for African Health-Tech
The African digital health market is projected to grow to about $16.6 billion by 2030, signalling that technologies enabling remote triage, monitoring and dispatch (such as those used by Salvus) are already central to the ecosystem.
According to industry analysts, these figures highlight the expanding opportunity for Salvus to anchor its emergency-response platform within a broader health-tech wave across Africa.
As Salvus Emergency continues its mission, experts agree that it represents a growing movement of African startups reimagining public health infrastructure through technology.
Talking Points
It is remarkable that Salvus Emergency is tackling one of Nigeria’s most critical healthcare gaps; the lack of a reliable emergency response infrastructure, by building a digital layer that connects ambulances, hospitals, and citizens in real time.
By combining AI triage, geo-mapping, and a nationwide data bank, Salvus eliminates guesswork from emergency response, ensuring patients are matched not just to the nearest responder but to the right one, and to hospitals that have the right capacity and expertise.
At Techparley, we recognise how such data-driven coordination can redefine pre-hospital care in Nigeria, where less than 10% of emergencies are currently managed through organised systems.
This approach transforms emergency care from a fragmented service into a responsive, technology-enabled network.
As Salvus scales, partnerships with trauma centres, insurers, and government agencies could be pivotal in expanding coverage and integrating data for predictive healthcare planning. If executed effectively, the startup could become a continental blueprint for how technology, data, and trust converge to save lives.
————————-
Bookmark Techparley.com for the most insightful technology news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @Techparleynews, on Facebook at Techparley Africa, on LinkedIn at Techparley Africa, or on Instagram at Techparleynews.
