The “Investing in Innovation” (i3) programme was launched on 22 June 2022 as the result of a collaboration between Southbridge A&I, Salient advisory, and SCIDaR. This pan-African programme intends to address the issue of insufficient funds for health product distribution African startups. The goal is to channel international money to African entrepreneurs.
The i3 initiative has a budget of $7 million spread over two years. The a mount is designed to yearly support 30 HealthTech startups in Africa, notably in the health product distribution industry.
This initiative receives support from multiple partners. These organisations include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the African Union Development Agency, and the World Health Organization. We also observe the presence of two big pharmaceutical industry players, namely Merck and AmerisourceBergen.
Read also Egypt’s Fintech MNT-Halan Closes $150M Securitized Bond Issuance
A grant of $50,000 and integration into the global HealthTech market “Investing in Innovation” seeks to find start-up or growth-stage entrepreneurs on the continent. The targeted projects are those that make it possible to have a measurable impact on public health in terms of product availability, accessibility, quality, or transparency.
Four of the continent’s most famous accelerators will choose the startups. First, IMPACT Lab is in charge of coordinating the selection process in French-speaking Africa. The Morocco-based accelerator will also track startups throughout the duration of the programme. The South African accelerator responsible for Southern Africa is Startupbootcamp AfriTech. Kenya’s Villgro Africa is entrusted with East Africa. Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) in Nigeria is the authorised West African accelerator.
After a lengthy screening procedure, the first thirty startups will get a $50,000 funding. In addition, they will have access to markets through events held across the continent. The startups will be directly linked to a high-level global ecosystem in the health industry.
Read also AfDB to Establish African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation
The application deadline for the first batch of 30 enterprises is August 14, 2022. The programme is slated to begin on September 19, 2022.
Please visit this link to submit your application: https://innovationsinafrica.com/
African healthtech funds African healthtech funds
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh