Bridgetefa Chukwumah

A Nigerian tech entrepreneur who revolutionized healthcare access in rural Africa through her startup.

About Bridgetefa Chukwumah

Bridgetefa Chukwumah is a Nigerian innovator and founder of Medilinka, a groundbreaking telemedicine platform connecting rural African communities with healthcare professionals. Born in Lagos in 1990, she witnessed firsthand the challenges of accessing quality healthcare during her childhood in rural Ogun state. This inspired her to pursue biomedical engineering at the University of Ibadan before moving to MIT for a master's in healthcare technology innovation.

Impactful Work

Launched in 2021, Medilinka's AI-driven platform now serves over 2 million patients across 15 African countries. The system uses satellite internet to bypass infrastructure gaps, providing:

• Remote diagnostics via smartphone
• Automated prescription systems
• Emergency care coordination networks

Her work was featured in Nature Magazine and earned her the 2023 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Prize. Chukwumah also created the Health Hub Africa initiative training 5,000+ community health workers annually.

Global Recognition

In 2024, she partnered with UNICEF to expand services to refugee camps in the Sahel region. Her TED Talk "Connecting the Unreachable" has received over 2.5 million views. Current projects include developing low-cost portable diagnostic kits and malaria prediction algorithms using climate data.