The first bi-annual Canada-Nigeria Business Investment Summit & Conference (CNISC)

It has been estimated that about 30,000 Nigerians spend $1 billion annually on medical tourism. 60 percent of this amount is spent in four major areas of healthcare, namely cardiology, orthopedics, renal dialysis issues and cancer. Africa may be home to less than 15 percent of the world’s population, but it is the continent where up to 25 percent of the world’s diseases occur. 
The Nigerian healthcare market is large and diverse. Its value chain comprises of manufacturers, health service providers, medical insurance, retailers, distributors, health financing entities, and medical education providers. There is a need for investment in all these areas.

As most investors prefer the high financial returns of specialty hospitals and diagnostic facilities, primary healthcare in Nigeria has not seen high levels of investment. Investment in primary healthcare provision can create immense value for both providers and beneficiaries if it can leverage on a large enough population and an associated network of diagnostic capabilities and specialist input.

A myriad of investment opportunities exists across the healthcare value chain in Nigeria. Investors interested in taking advantage of these opportunities will benefit from taking a long-term view of the market and keeping in consideration the dynamics of healthcare investment in developing nations.