The Africa Health Tech Summit 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda set the stage for a pivotal moment in African health innovation. Investing in Innovation (i3), a value creation network co-implemented by Salient Advisory alongside our partners at SCIDaR to support the commercialization and scale of health tech supply chain startups in Africa, took center stage to reflect on the transformative outcomes of its first phase and officially launch its second phase. The event brought together leading voices in health tech, including innovators, donors, accelerators, and global health leaders, united by a shared vision: transforming healthcare delivery in Africa through local solutions.
In just two years, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 18 countries, exceeding expectations with 43% women-led and 20% Francophone-led ventures. The program facilitated 450 strategic connections, resulting in partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created—half of which were held by women. With these innovators touching the lives of 198 million Africans, Phase 1 proved that homegrown solutions can achieve lasting impact when supported with risk-tolerant funding, strategic introductions, and capacity-building.
At the Summit, i3 launched its second phase, building from lessons learned from the first phase, and will focus on specific pain points where innovators are well-positioned to advance including the Future of Pharmacy and UHC – taking the model beyond innovations in supply chain to help customers tackle other key health system challenges. Phase 2 will intensify support for a small group of 10 growth-stage innovators to help land partnerships that can power large-scale increases in product access. We will also continue to build an equitable innovation pipeline by supporting 10 early-stage startups. In total, phase 2 will support 20 high-potential health tech innovators and has the potential to improve access to healthcare for 210 million people across Africa.
Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Chief Digital Advisor at Africa CDC, highlighted the program’s significance, noting how initiatives like i3 underscore and catalyze the transformative potential of African innovation. He emphasized Africa CDC’s ongoing commitment to supporting health tech solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges and improve health outcomes on a large scale.
The energy at the Summit was palpable, with African ingenuity taking center stage. Leaders from the Gates Foundation, Africa CDC, and i3 alumni celebrated the power of partnerships in driving progress and issued a rallying call for stakeholders to engage.
Applications for i3 Phase 2 open in January 2025. You can sign up to Salient Advisory’s monthly Funding & Support newsletter to be sure that you receive the notification in your inbox!
