Scaling-up successful maternal and newborn health (MNH) innovations to a wider geographical area should improve the survival of more women and babies. This case study looked at an innovation known as the Emergency Transport Scheme (ETS) that aims to increase demand for maternal and newborn health (MNH) services in North-Eastern Nigeria by providing timely and affordable transport to health facilities for mothers and newborn babies in rural communities. Lessons from this study could help implementing organisations, national and state governments and donors to scale-up successful innovations in the future.