How to Build Emergency Response Infrastructure in Africa with Folake Owodunni

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

For those listeners in North America, February is Black History Month. On the podcast, we’re all about how our Black present syncs with our history for all things forward for people of the Black diaspora worldwide. This week’s conversation zooms in on a healthcare infrastrucutre solution that has the potential to transform how emergency response services are designed and implemented with the realities of African communities in mind. Folake Owodunni is the co-founder and CEO of Emergency Response Africa (ERA), a health tech company revolutionizing access to emergency care in Africa, beginning with Nigeria. With over 15 years of experience across healthcare, marketing, and consulting in Nigeria, the U.S., and Canada, she brings a dynamic and cross-sectoral approach to solving complex health challenges.

Under her leadership, ERA has managed over 4,500 medical emergencies, reducing response times by up to 80%, and forging partnerships with forward-thinking state governments including Edo, Ogun, and Rivers.
Also a certified First Responder with the Canadian Red Cross, she is passionate about Africa’s rising tech ecosystem and making fast, reliable emergency medical care accessible to all Africans using technology. Recognized for her innovation and impact, she has received multiple awards and development grants, including the Google Black Founders Fund, JICA’s Next Innovation with Japan Award, The Professor Grace Alele-Williams Alumni Impact Award, and most recently, the global Aurora Tech Award.

As you’ll hear in the conversation, ERA is appealing to the the Black/African Diaspora to get involved. Health is wealth so #listenandlearn how you can forward ERA’s mission to deliver fast, reliable emergency care across Africa.

Where to find Folake?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Folake reading?
Tessa Afshar’s Jewel of the Nile
Finding Flow: The Psychology Of Engagement With Everyday Life by Mihaly Csikszentmihalhi

What’s Folake listening to?
Diary of a CEO Podcast

Other topics of interest:
Ogun State, Nigeria
Kitchner - Waterloo, Canada
Meet Dr. Ola Brown of Flying Doctors Nigeria
About The Prosperity Paradox
African Journal for Emergency Medicine
About Biblical Fiction