Folasade Akinruntan

Nigerian entrepreneur and founder of FEMNET, improving women's health through technology and advocacy.

Folasade Akinruntan is a Nigerian tech innovator and social entrepreneur who pioneered FEMNET, a digital health platform addressing maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Launching in 2012, FEMNET connects rural women to midwives via SMS and AI-driven apps, reducing childbirth deaths by 37% in Nigeria’s Delta region. Akinruntan’s work was recognized by the UN Women as a model for scalable health solutions, leading to partnerships with Ghana’s Ministry of Health and Kenya’s MoH. Her 2018 TEDx Talk ‘Code for Life’ highlighted how technology can bypass systemic healthcare gaps in Africa.

Akinruntan’s Women’s Health Data Initiative (2020) mapped 1.2 million maternal care cases across 15 African countries, revealing critical gaps in prenatal care. This data informed the African Development Bank’s $500M maternal health fund. Her 2021 book Code Blue: Reimagining Women’s Health has been adopted in medical schools globally. She also co-founded AfriTechGirls, mentoring 5,000+ young women in coding for healthcare apps. Akinruntan’s impact extends to policy—her testimony before the Nigerian Senate led to the Maternal Health Act 2022, mandating mobile health services in underserved areas. Despite opposition from traditional healers, her platform now serves 2.5 million users, earning her the Ashoka Fellowship in 2023. Her vision of tech-driven healthcare equity is reshaping Africa’s approach to maternal care.