SG Holdings Foundation team, at the Free Medical Care drive for Ijemo community, Ogun state.
As Nigeria strives to meet Universal Health Coverage (UHC) targets and Sustainable Development Goal 3; Good Health and Well-being by 2030, it has become increasingly clear that the private sector must lend a hand to government efforts to reach that goal. SG Holdings Limited, as a responsible private sector organization, is doing just that particularly in remote locations across the country.
Nigeria’s most underserved health challenges don’t make headlines. They don’t trend on social media. But they keep millions of families locked in cycles of poverty and pain. Rather than chasing optics, the SG Holdings Foundation under the leadership of philanthropist and business executive Deji Somoye, has quietly emerged as a model for what truly impactful Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can and should look like; one rooted in compassion, sustainability, and dignity for every Nigerian life.
Founded as the social impact arm of SG Holdings Limited, the foundation has demonstrated a sustained commitment to healthcare access and equity, especially within underserved regions of Ogun State. These are not just one-time gestures but are part of a broader philosophy that sees health as both a human right and a national asset.
In Ijemo, Abeokuta, the SG Holdings Foundation executed a large-scale free medical outreach deploying a team of 50 healthcare professionals to serve over 600 residents. The program delivered diagnostic tests, eye screenings, medication, and wellness education free of charge. For a region where primary care is often inaccessible, the outreach was more than a medical service; it was a public health intervention.
“We are not waiting for perfect systems before acting,” said Deji Somoye. “Healthcare is one of those needs that cannot wait.”
Beyond outreaches, the SG Holdings Foundation has tackled issues often ignored due to their complexity or lack of media appeal. In 2018, the foundation sponsored hernia surgeries for 200 patients in Ogun State, targeting a condition that is treatable yet financially out of reach for many.
More recently, in 2023, the foundation donated 100 wheelchairs to rural and peri-urban health centers across Odeda, Obafemi-Owode, and Abeokuta, beyond enabling mobility but dignity, inclusion, and systemic equity.
“Healthcare should not be a privilege limited to a few. Through the SG Holdings Foundation, we are committed to supporting the health and well-being of vulnerable populations across Nigeria” Somoye noted.
In one of its most emotionally resonant interventions, in 2020, the SG Holdings Foundation donated ₦5 million to the Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation’s IVF Grant Project, enabling several couples to undergo fertility treatments, tackling not just the cost of In Vitro – fertilization (IVF) but the emotional burden, stigma and silence around infertility.
When the COVID-19 pandemic strained Nigeria’s health system, the SG Holdings Foundation responded with strategic urgency. The foundation supplied critical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical items to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) directly supporting the frontline personnel risking their lives daily.
“This was a time when our heroes in scrubs needed more than applause; they needed action.” Deji Somoye said. “It was about standing with them, supplying what they needed to stay safe and keep others safe.”
Deji Somoye’s approach to social impact reframed the role of the private sector not as an external benefactor but as a stakeholder in National wellbeing. It is a vision where doing good is not peripheral to business but central to how value is measured.
As Nigeria grapples with widespread health inequities and resource limitations, the SG Holdings Foundation stands as proof that the private sector can step into the breach not just with resources, but with empathy and sustainable strategies for impact.
