But IHS Nigeria’s latest Impact Report 2023–2024, launched in Lagos on Thursday, September 25, 2025, cut through the cynicism, revealing actual impact, not corporate lip service.

The company has spent N5.4 billion across 160 projects, touching every state and local government in the country.

At the launch, attended by government officials, development partners, and industry leaders, IHS Nigeria placed its measurable footprint on the table: digital skills for over 108,000 Nigerians, internet access for 956 schools, 9 oxygen plants across states, 4,000 trees planted, and over 20,000 residents given clean water through solar boreholes in Borno.

The event was the first time IHS publicly launched an impact report, and the CEO Mohamad Darwish said this was deliberate. “This evening is not just to talk about IHS or present a report but rather it is about telling a story of giving back,” he said. 

“Our stakeholders in IHS cannot just be shareholders, customers, suppliers, and employees. The communities we operate in have to be at the front and centre of our stakeholders list. We have a duty to create better conditions for people and communities to thrive today and for generations to come.”

Darwish recalled how the company’s visible support for the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative prompted other corporates to follow suit. “Because IHS was first to support FG’s 3MTT initiative and it was publicised, other companies within and outside the sector jumped on the wagon,” he noted.

The IHS Nigeria Impact Report 2023–2024 is anchored on IHS Towers’ four sustainability pillars—ethics and governance, environment and climate change, education and economic growth, and people and communities—while aligning with nine of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Impact in Numbers

Dapo Otunla, senior vice president for Sustainability and chief corporate services officer, at IHS Nigeria reeled off commendable figures:

• N5.4 billion invested in 2023–2024 alone.
• 160 projects implemented nationwide, with a total spend of N11 billion since 2020.
• 956 schools connected to the internet.
• 1.7 million learners reached through the Nigerian Learning Passport.
• 20,000 beneficiaries of solar-powered boreholes in Borno, helping flood-displaced families return home.
• 201 hydrocele surgeries and treatment for over 1 million people with neglected tropical diseases.
• Over 14,000 children immunised, 13,800 girls empowered through digital education, and 205 young female innovators upskilled.
• 239 pints of blood donated by staff.
• Nearly 24,000 residents benefiting from solar streetlights across eight states.

“This report, and more importantly the stories that are inside, really gives a lot of pride and joy to IHS, to me personally, and every staff at IHS, for what we have achieved in terms of giving back to the communities that we operate,” Darwish said in a post-event interview.

Partners Speak

Government and partners present testified to IHS Nigeria’s unique approach. Dr Dapo Ademola Adesina, special adviser for Technical and Vocational Education in Osun State, commended the corporate culture: “I see IHS as touching lives, touching communities. This is very remarkable. If we can duplicate this all around the country, it’s been good, because technical and vocational education is big now—it’s the next big thing.”

Celine Lafoucriere, chief of UNICEF’s Southwest Nigeria Office, called IHS a “unique private sector partner”:

“IHS Towers has been working with us in many fields, including health, access to water and sanitation, and young people’s transition from learning to earning. IHS very much shares our ethical values and the drive to make sure that those communities can not only survive but thrive in Nigeria.”

She, however, flagged climate education as the next frontier: “There is no Planet B. To educate the youth of today to acquire green skills for greener jobs… is extremely important. The whole orientation that IHS Towers is giving to its sustainability work is perfectly aligned with the one we have.”

Internal Perspective

For staff, sustainability is not a side project. Ayotade Oyinlola, chief HR Officer of IHS Towers, stressed: “What we do in terms of giving back is about impact, not publicity. Wherever we have our towers—and that’s 16,000 towers strong—we should give something meaningful to the community in which we operate.”

Employees, he explained, propose initiatives from their communities which are then vetted, funded, and scaled: “We look at how sustainable these initiatives will be in the long run. And we go for it.”

The impact report frames IHS Nigeria not just as an infrastructure company but as a social investor. Dapo Otunla, further stated, “We believe in the power of the community and in empowering our people to help them unlock their full potential. Our interventions cut across the six geopolitical regions in Nigeria.”

Darwish, closing his address, reframed what success should mean in Nigeria’s corporate spaces:

“The report we unveil today is a testament to what is possible when a business redefines success not just by profit margins, but by the positive impact it creates.”

The cocktail session ended with a collage of images: schoolchildren holding tablets, women drawing water from solar boreholes, frontline workers in scholarships, and oxygen plants saving lives. 

A visual reminder that in a country where corporate social responsibility usually stops at branded T-shirts and photo ops, IHS Nigeria has gone deeper, into oxygen, clean water, digital futures, and hope.

Nigeria’s healthcare system, many say, is hanging by a thread, stitched together by a federal health budget that limps at N1.33 trillion, just 2.7% of the N49.7 trillion national budget. 

Nonetheless, despite these shortcomings, there are outliers, those not waiting for the system to fix itself. Mrs Tonye Mayomi is one of them.

Africa Digital Awards Honours Mayomi Tonye

As the General Manager of Schubbs Dental Clinic, a leading dental care brand with a 38-year history, Tonye Mayomi manages healthcare businesses across three locations; commendably impacting how care is delivered, one facility at a time.

“I see it as giving back to my community,” she says, reflecting on her journey. “When people fall sick, they’re helpless, and setting up a practice that can help them get better—it strengthens the community.”

Her story is built on focus and uncomfortable truths about Nigeria’s broken healthcare infrastructure. For example, the country currently has one doctor for every 5,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 1:600. And yet, Tonye Mayomi has managed to build and run successful healthcare operations, even in underserved areas.

Thriving in a Male-Dominated Space

Navigating the medical space as a woman in Nigeria comes with challenges. Mayomi faced them, winning. “Medicine is a male-dominated field in Nigeria. When you’re leading teams with consultants and doctors, they tend to look at you like you’re female, and they think they know more than you,” she shared.

But she never shrank. In fact, she made her presence non-negotiable. “The aspect of patient care is not a one-man system. You have the front officers, the cleaners, the procurement officers, human resources. Eventually, the doctors understood that no one should be looked down on. And they even started giving me more respect than they gave their medical colleagues.”

For Tonye Mayomi, giving up has never been an option. “Maybe because I got into this field at the right age. I was already in my 30s, so I knew it was my calling—to help people feel better and to make healthcare practices function better. Without us as healthcare administrators, doctors can’t function properly.”

Her determination has kept some doctors from fleeing Nigeria’s overburdened system. “Many doctors who have encountered me have always felt a relief. Some of them have even decided not to leave Nigeria.”

That is no small feat in a country where over 15,000 Nigerian doctors have left in the past decade, seeking better pay and working conditions abroad.

The Cost of Care and Customer Service

Speaking about the challenges in Nigeria’s healthcare system, Mayomi said. “Customer care is a major issue. The cost of care is another. When people can’t afford to pay for care, it slows down the entire system—everyone feels it, from the doctors to the front desk officers.”

In Nigeria, less than 10% of citizens are covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme, leaving millions to either self-fund their treatments or go without care.

Mayomi stresses that addressing these two areas, cost and customer service, is highly important. “We need to improve patient management systems. It’s a continuous process, but hopefully, this will result in a healthcare system that actually works for Nigerians.”

Cleanliness, Compassion and Care

While the system’s cracks are glaring, Tonye Mayomi believes there are practical ways to work around them. Her philosophy is fixed on cleanliness, compassion and patient-centred care. 

“Sick people don’t want to come into dirty hospitals. They want to feel welcomed. The way a patient is treated is as important as the medicine you give them. If you throw a malaria medicine at somebody, it will work, but they will never forget how you made them feel,” she said, challenging the culture of transactional care with a more humane approach.

Advocating Innovation and Women Inclusion

Speaking on innovations, Mayomi has led and is pushing for full automation. “We use Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Patients can book appointments online, and when they come in, they don’t need to pass files around. Within minutes, they’ve been assigned to a doctor. We also use marketing tools that automatically send out information about our services.”

She insists that technology is not a threat but an enabler. “Doctors need to be humble enough to learn. It’s not a competition with technology; it can enhance their performance.”

And for women’s participation in healthcare, she says it needs to go beyond nursing. “Women are an underserved population in medicine, especially in administration and facility management. But now is the time. If you can hold a screwdriver, you can run a hospital’s facility management gate and you will be relevant for a very long time.”

At the 2023/2024 Medical and Dental Induction Ceremony at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Schubbs Dental, under her leadership, presented cash prizes to the best graduating student in Dentistry and the best student in Restorative Dentistry.

“It is only reasonable that we support students who are becoming doctors today,” she says. “We will keep supporting doctors in Nigeria and hoping that will shift the middle, so more people will stay or even come back to serve their country.”

Her long-term dream? To see every healthcare facility in Nigeria fully automated. “I advocate automation. I advocate women inclusion. I advocate continuous learning. I advocate best practices in medical care. These are the things I push every day.”

“I would love to see Nigeria become a medical hub, like Turkey. Why can’t Nigeria be where people come for their surgeries, their paediatric procedures? We have more doctors graduating here than anywhere else. This is something I’m actively pushing.”

And her parting advice? “Exercise more. We are seeing more young people who are overweight, and it causes so many other health issues. Wake up in the morning, take a walk. If you can’t run, take a walk. Just move.”

In a healthcare system where most people are struggling just to stay alive, Tonye Mayomi is building and leading to ensure inclusive and working conditions.