Three innovators have emerged as winners of the HelpMum CareCode Hackathon 2.0, taking home a combined N10 million as healthcare and technology leaders gathered in Lagos to examine how artificial intelligence can transform Africa’s healthcare system.
The winners were announced at MedVerge 2.0, a health technology event convened by Abiodun Adereni, founder and CEO of HelpMum, Dobic Health and SmartMRS, and held at the Radisson Blu, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Lavender Care won the first prize of N5 million, while Chop Beta and Bumply placed second and third, receiving N3 million and N2 million respectively.
The three winners emerged from five finalists selected from hundreds of applications. Other finalists were HerPride and MamaConnects.
According to Adereni, the hackathon was designed to give young innovators an opportunity to develop and present technology-driven solutions to healthcare challenges.
‘These people are basically students coming to pitch an idea. It has to be healthcare-related and also involve technology,’ he said.
The event also provided a platform for HelpMum, Dobic Health and SmartMRS to showcase their innovations and launch a government working document aimed at strengthening collaboration around healthcare technology.
Adereni said MedVerge was conceived as a platform where innovators could share their work, inspire young people and attract investment into healthcare-focused solutions.
The gathering featured healthcare professionals, technology experts, students, innovators and policymakers, with discussions focused largely on the future of AI in healthcare.
Lily Aimas Love, AI Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Associate at HelpMum Africa, said the organisation is leveraging artificial intelligence, research, advocacy and policy advisory to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
She noted that preventable deaths among children remain a major concern, particularly where misinformation and poor access to health information affect vaccination decisions.
Love also argued that AI should be viewed as a productivity tool rather than a replacement for healthcare workers.
‘AI is not really going to take your job. It depends on how you can leverage AI to actually make your workflow better,’ she said, stressing that professionals who learn to use emerging technologies effectively would become more productive.
HelpMum’s team also highlighted its efforts to reach underserved women in rural communities with pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and child vaccination information.
According to the organisation, its initiatives have reached more than one million mothers across its programmes.
Beyond technology, HelpMum is expanding its focus to nutrition. Abionu Oluwatise, the company’s consultant dietitian, said the organisation is running the Nutrition Champions Initiative, which trains community healthcare workers on maternal, infant and young-child nutrition.
It also operates the Nova Hub programme, which provides antenatal nutrition education to pregnant women at primary healthcare centres.
Oluwatise said assessments conducted before and after the interventions have shown strong knowledge retention among participants, highlighting the importance of targeted nutrition education.
MedVerge ultimately positioned healthcare innovation as a collective responsibility, bringing together doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technologists, students and other professionals to develop solutions capable of improving Nigeria’s healthcare outcomes.