Safaricom Foundation Chairman Joseph Ogutu has challenged African health innovators to develop solutions that address real community needs, saying successful innovation requires collaboration, patience and a commitment to improving lives beyond commercial returns.
Speaking during the launch of the Amref Health Innovation Hub at Amref International University’s Northlands Campus in Nairobi on October 18, 2026, Ogutu cited M-PESA’s evolution from a basic mobile money transfer service into a wider financial services platform as an example of how innovation can grow beyond its original purpose.
“Innovation must address a very specific felt need. You cannot innovate for the sake of innovation,” he said, noting that M-PESA was introduced in 2007 to provide Kenyans with a simple, safe and affordable way to transfer money at a time when access to formal banking services was limited.
What began as a consumer-to-consumer money transfer service has since expanded into a range of financial services, enabling customers to pay bills and school fees, transfer money between bank accounts and access other services without visiting physical banking halls.
Ogutu, who worked at Safaricom for nearly 20 years and continues to chair Safaricom Foundation, said the platform’s growth demonstrated how solutions designed around a clear need could evolve into services with a much wider impact.
He said the experience offered lessons for the health innovation hub, which is intended to help innovators develop solutions that improve health outcomes across Africa.
“Innovation can evolve beyond the original design,” he said, adding, “M-PESA evolved from customer-to-customer funds transfer, and today it is a suite of financial services at the fingertips of the customer.”
The second lesson, he said, was the importance of partnerships in expanding the reach of innovations. He noted that M-PESA’s growth had been supported by collaboration with other organisations and service providers, allowing new services to emerge on its platform.
“Innovation is not about hiding stuff under the chair. You have to partner with others in order to scale,” he said, urging the hub’s leadership and innovators to embrace collaboration and co-creation.
He added that scaling solutions required more than good ideas, pointing to the importance of trust, infrastructure and systems that ensure innovations reach and serve their intended users.
Ogutu also challenged institutions to nurture innovation across their organisations rather than leave the responsibility to teams working within dedicated innovation hubs.
“Ideas come from everywhere. You need to develop a culture and practice of innovation across the business. That is the only way that you will succeed because innovative ideas are from everywhere,” he said.
The Amref Health Innovation Hub was launched as part of the Africa Health Collaborative (AHC) Convening 2026, held under the theme Africa Unlocked: Co-creating Impactful and Sustainable Youth-Led Health Innovations.
The convening brings together young innovators, health professionals, universities, policymakers, entrepreneurs and development partners to explore ways of strengthening healthcare systems and expanding opportunities for young people.
The hub aims to create 10,000 dignified jobs for African youth and frontline health workers over the next five years, according to the event briefing.
Ogutu congratulated Amref International University and Amref Health Africa on establishing the hub, while cautioning that setting up the facility was only the beginning.
“This is the easy part, setting up the Innovation Hub. You have to believe that there is something to deliver beyond return on investment. You have to be there for the long haul,” he said.
His remarks placed the emphasis on ensuring that the hub becomes more than a physical space for generating ideas, but a platform where practical solutions can be developed, supported and translated into lasting improvements in healthcare.
