The International Rescue Committee has launched Airbel Ventures, a groundbreaking humanitarian impact investing fund, with Nigeria selected as the testing ground for its first major investment. Announced this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the fund’s inaugural partnership with health technology company Signalytic will pilot solar-powered digital infrastructure across the IRC’s health programs in Nigeria.
Why Nigeria?
Nigeria was strategically chosen as the pilot location, reflecting both the country’s urgent healthcare infrastructure challenges and the IRC’s extensive operations in the region. The organisation operates across seven hospitals and 65 community health facilities primarily in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, areas severely affected by over a decade of armed conflict that has displaced more than 2.5 million people.
In 2023 alone, IRC teams in Nigeria treated 125,372 children under five suffering from acute malnutrition. The organisation’s work spans maternal and child health, nutrition services, water and sanitation, protection programs, and emergency response across conflict-affected communities.
The Infrastructure Crisis
Between 60 and 90 percent of rural health clinics across Africa lack stable electricity or internet connectivity, with Nigeria’s northeastern states experiencing some of the most severe infrastructure deficits. Without reliable power, health facilities cannot maintain electronic medical records, run diagnostic equipment, refrigerate vaccines, or coordinate with broader health systems.
The problem is particularly acute in areas like Borno State, where more than 2 million people remain internally displaced. Health facilities serving these populations struggle with frequent power outages and limited network coverage, making digital health interventions nearly impossible with conventional technology.
Signalytic’s Solar-Powered Solution
Signalytic’s S+ Platform was designed specifically for these challenging environments. The solar-powered system operates for three days without external power and creates its own Wi-Fi network from a local microserver, allowing healthcare workers to access digital tools even when cellular networks fail.
The technology stores health data locally using distributed ledger technology while enabling synchronisation with other facilities when minimal connectivity becomes available. This means patient information, drug inventory data, and health records remain accessible during extended network disruptions. The system is two to three times less expensive than conventional alternatives, making it economically viable for resource-constrained programs.
The Nigeria Pilot Program
Following Airbel Ventures’ investment, the IRC will deploy Signalytic’s technology across selected health facilities within its Nigerian network. The pilot will test whether the system can reliably improve healthcare delivery by maintaining electronic medical records, supporting supply chain management to prevent drug stock-outs, and enabling better coordination between health facilities.
The IRC will rigorously evaluate the pilot’s impact, measuring improvements in patient care quality, supply chain efficiency, healthcare worker satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness. This evidence will determine whether the technology can be scaled across other IRC health programs and adopted more broadly across the humanitarian sector.
Building on Innovation in Nigeria
The Signalytic pilot builds on the IRC’s track record of innovation in Nigeria. The organisation launched its Anticipatory Action program in Nigeria in 2021, combining weather data and satellite technology to predict floods and trigger early cash assistance. In partnership with GiveWell, the IRC is deploying chlorination solutions to bring safe water to over 1.1 million people across 93 communities. The organisation has also been testing aprendIA, an AI-powered educational chatbot, to support learning continuity for displaced children.
The Broader Context
Airbel Ventures represents a new approach to humanitarian innovation, targeting $50 million in catalytic capital to support companies developing breakthrough technologies for crisis-affected communities. The fund provides risk-tolerant financing, humanitarian expertise, and real-world testing environments across the IRC’s operations in more than 40 countries.
IRC President David Miliband emphasised that innovation must shift from being viewed as optional to being recognized as an operational necessity, particularly as the humanitarian sector faces historic funding cuts while needs continue to rise.
If successful, the Nigerian experience could catalyse adoption across the IRC’s global health portfolio and influence how other humanitarian organisations approach digital health infrastructure. For healthcare workers and patients in northeastern Nigeria’s conflict-affected communities, the technology offers the promise of healthcare that works despite unreliable power, inconsistent connectivity, and ongoing insecurity.
