Ezulwini – More than 70 young people from tertiary institutions across Eswatini are developing technology-driven solutions to some of the country’s most pressing healthcare challenges as part of the MTN x Enactus NextGen Digital Health Solutions Fair, running under MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign.
The fair, held in Mbabane under the theme “Expand Equitable Health for Every Community,” has brought together current students and recent graduates who are being challenged to design practical digital health innovations capable of improving healthcare access, efficiency and outcomes, while building sustainable enterprises that can scale beyond local communities.
The first day of the fair exposed participants to key healthcare challenges and opportunities within the sector, with students engaging experts from government, healthcare and industry on areas including public health, healthcare accessibility and blood donation systems. 
Day two shifted focus to solution development, with activities hosted at the Royal Science and Technology Park in Mbabane. Participants worked alongside mentors from software engineering, healthcare, information security and innovation management, including experts from The Luke Commission and RSTP, who guided teams through refining their ideas and testing the practical viability of their proposed solutions.
Students also attended specialised masterclasses aimed at turning concepts into viable ventures. The MTN Fintech team walked participants through digital financial tools and showed how technologies such as Mobile Money can be built into health innovations to improve affordability and commercial sustainability. Legal experts from Magagula and Hlophe Attorneys covered intellectual property protection, patents, contracts and innovation safeguarding.
Enactus Country Director Sabelo Dlamini said the fair goes beyond idea generation, with the goal of producing a new generation of health entrepreneurs.
“Many young people are passionate about solving problems, but sustainable innovation requires more than a good idea. It requires understanding the problem deeply, validating the need, designing a practical solution, and developing a viable business model. This fair is helping participants build those capabilities. We are grateful to MTN for giving these young people a chance to create a better, sustainable future for us all,” Dlamini said.
Concepts already emerging from the programme cover blood donation management, maternal health, medication adherence, mental health support, telemedicine, digital patient records and healthcare financing.
The fair moves into its final phase on Tuesday, when teams will pitch their solutions before a panel of judges and stakeholders. Presentations will be assessed on health impact, scalability, sustainability, feasibility and alignment with digital health innovation objectives. Five qualifying innovations will receive seed funding and ongoing mentorship through Enactus’s youth entrepreneurship and employment creation programmes.
