A recent feature article in the UK’s The Telegraph spotlighted the role African healthtech innovators are playing by building new tech-driven models to bridge gaps in healthcare access and infrastructure.
Based on Salient’s market intelligence report titled Leading Innovations Enabling Health Product Access in Africa, the article spotlights Chefaa, an online pharmacy startup enabling digital purchasing for patients in Egypt’s fractured pharmacy market and Figorr, a Nigeria-based digital cold-chain solution enabling the monitoring of temperature-sensitive health products while in transit along supply chains, or in storage.
The article outlines two key factors driving the emergence—and scale—of these digitally enabled health innovators.
- Catalyst Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The pandemic accelerated digital adoption as consumers and businesses, previously hesitant about online services, were compelled to embrace them due to lockdowns and social distancing measures. This shift opened avenues for digital health startups to thrive.
- Broadband Internet Expansion: Between 2019 and 2022, over 160 million Africans gained broadband access, with internet users in Sub-Saharan Africa more than doubling from 2016 to 2021. Further, from 2014 to 2021, nearly 200 million Africans began making or receiving digital payments, facilitating the growth of online services, including healthtech innovations.
Yet, as the article notes, despite these enablers, healthtech pioneers still face a major challenge: the lack of availability of “working, patient capital”— that supports long-term growth rather than expecting immediate returns.
Click here to read the article on The Telegraph. (Published November 26, 2024)
