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Helium Health, the Lagos-based SaaS and full-service technology solutions provider for healthcare stakeholders, has announced a major change in its leadership. Adegoke “Goke” Olubusi has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Helium Health, the HealthTech company he co-founded a decade ago.
Dimeji Sofowora, who co-founded the company with Olubusi and Tito Ovia and has been its Chief Financial Officer from the start, assumes the role of CEO. Ovia left the company in 2022.
In a publicly shared farewell note, Olubusi described the moment as the close of a ten-year chapter defined by conviction and sacrifice. He said the decade was built on the belief that “healthcare in Africa could work better, and technology would play a meaningful role in making that happen.” He thanked those who supported the company’s journey and expressed gratitude to current and former staff, whom he referred to as “Helium Humans”.
Founded in 2016 by Sofowora, Ovia, and Olubusi, Helium Health builds digital infrastructure for healthcare providers across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council region. The company’s product suite spans electronic medical records and hospital management software, doctor-booking and patient record tools, and financing products such as working-capital loans and medical billing solutions for healthcare facilities.
Since its inception, the company claims to have served more than 1,000 healthcare facilities and worked with over 10,000 health workers, while disbursing more than $10 million in loans through its credit arm. Helium Health counts investors including AXA, Tencent, Global Ventures, Y Combinator, the Africa Healthcare Master Fund, the Gates Foundation, SCIDaR and the US International Development Finance Corporation among its backers.
Sofowora, who co-founded Helium Health and has overseen its finances as CFO since the company’s earliest days, now steps into the top role. Helium Health said his appointment brings “continuity, deep institutional knowledge and a clear understanding of the opportunities ahead” as the company enters its next phase.
The company’s broader leadership team remains largely intact, including co-founder and Head of Growth Ralph Oluwole, Chief Operations Officer Chichi Offodile, and several other functional heads across product, legal and human resources.
The leadership change comes as African companies continue to navigate a challenging funding environment, with founders across the continent increasingly handing over day-to-day operations to long-serving executives as their companies mature beyond the startup phase.
In June 2023, the company announced that it had raised $30 million in Series B funding. The round was led by “AXA Investment Managers Alts” with participation from Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, Anne Wojcicki (Founder of 23&Me) and Flatworld Partners. Existing investors Global Ventures, Tencent, Ohara Pharmaceuticals, LCY Group, WTI and AAIC also participated in the round.
In the past 18 months, Paga’s Tayo Oviosu, Yoco’s Katlego Maphai, uLesson’s Sim Shagaya, Lifestores Healthcare’s Andrew Garza, mPharma’s Gregory Rockson, Elmenus’ Amir Allam and Wasoko’s Daniel Yu have all stepped back from CEO roles at companies they founded. Most of these transitions match the one announced by Helium Health with Yoco offering the closest parallel, where Katlego Maphai stepped down as CEO and passed the reins to his co-founders rather than an external hire.
Despite the leadership transition, Helium Health said its mission remains unchanged: to build technology, infrastructure and partnerships that strengthen healthcare delivery and expand access to better care across Africa. The company reiterated its confidence in the future of healthcare on the continent and said it expects to keep playing a central role in shaping that future under Sofowora’s leadership.
