More than 300 health supply chain innovators are building an entirely new healthcare channel across Africa—one that's already reaching hundreds of thousands of patients daily and has the potential to reshape access for millions more patients. 

Hundreds of healthtech startups launched across Africa around the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the channel has been growing steadily. Today, the collective reach and potential to expand patient access, reduce market entry barriers for manufacturers, and provide governments with scalable pathways to deliver health products and services is substantial.

From Pilots to Patients: 300,000 Daily Touchpoints and Counting 

In December 2025, 15 leading African healthtech innovators gathered at the Investing in Innovation Africa Access to Markets event in Lagos, Nigeria: Advantage Health, Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Elephant, Field Inc., Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Pharmarun, Purelife Pharmacy, Zuri Health, Kapsule, Figorr, Sproxil, and Remedial Health. The data they shared on the healthcare facilities they’re serving, revealing an ecosystem already operating at meaningful scale. Collectively:

• Leading innovators reach more than 65K healthcare providers today
• Conservatively, this translates to over 300K patient touchpoints daily
• By 2028, they project serving 165K providers, facilitating more than 800K daily patient interactions

This is no longer just a collection of apps or pilot projects – it’s infrastructure reaching real people with real healthcare products and services. 

Healthtech’s reach is growing in Francophone and Southern Africa 

Today, Nigeria and Kenya account for nearly 90% of facilities served by leading healthtech companies. But the map is shifting. Leading healthtech companies expect to reach >18K providers in Francophone Africa and >30K providers in Southern Africa by 2028.

While most innovators are serving private facilities with digital services, Field Inc. stands as a notable exception, reaching nearly 30K public facilities through large-scale government programs — a glimpse of what public-private integration could look like at scale. 

The Real Bottlenecks: Contracts and Capital 

To power their expansion, the 15 innovators consistently point to two critical enablers: public and private partnerships, and access to working capital. Collaborations with pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers provide the steady product flow necessary to serve providers reliably. Long-term contracts with governments and global health institutions anchor these innovators within national health priorities, supporting new product launches and coordinated service delivery. 

Additionally, working capital is needed to purchase inventory, extend credit to providers, expand into rural areas where margins are thin. 

What Happens Next Depends on Who’s Paying Attention 

Realizing the full potential of this channel requires coordinated investment, strategic partnerships, and supportive policy environments. Investors must recognize these networks as healthcare infrastructure providers, not just tech startups. Manufacturers need to see them as viable routes to market. Governments should engage them as partners in delivering against national health priorities. And global health institutions can leverage them to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage. 

The channel exists. The scale is emerging. The opportunity now is to ensure that this reach delivers a lasting, equitable impact. In a continent long defined by gaps in healthcare access, innovators are building networks that work, scale that matters, and pathways that reach those who have historically been left behind.
 

Check out our short explainer video on the reach of these new channels!
 

In Africa, the need for locally-driven, sustainable solutions to bring health products to people has never been greater. Leading Future of Pharmacy startups operating in 19 countries across the continent are tackling this challenge head-on and advancing innovations that are expanding patient access, lowering costs and increasing visibility.

Thanks to the support of the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit, and Boehringer Ingelheim, these companies are proving how powerful, tech-enabled solutions can result in more efficient, data-driven delivery at scale—improving patient outcomes and spurring economic growth in the process.

To explore the work of this remarkable cohort—including deeper insights into their business models, customer reach, and strategic partners—check out our newly released i3 Future of Pharmacy Cohort Lookbook and see how they’re making essential care more accessible, affordable, and safer. 

Please share widely with your networks and don’t hesitate to reach out to us at support@innovationsinafrica.com if you'd like us to make a connection on your behalf.

We are excited to share the latest insights and achievements from Year 2 of the i3 program!

The innovators in the second cohort have gained significant traction over the last four months of the program and are improving access for an estimated 83m patients annually through at least 58k providers they serve.

Collectively, they have successfully secured an additional $11.3 million in funding, marking a significant milestone. On the front of job creation, 300 new jobs were created - notably 36% of these roles were filled by women, underscoring our commitment to women inclusion.

Lastly, we are excited to highlight the expansion efforts of 13 of our cohort members, both nationally and internationally. Innovators have also secured 45 partnerships, with five directly attributed to the i3 program. Here's a snapshot of our progress.

As we progress, we are finding that connecting innovators with potential customers/partners requires dynamic approaches thus prompting us to explore new strategies in our program delivery to facilitate more partnerships.

We are excited for the journey ahead and the lasting impact we will make with the innovators!

Until next quarter!

• The pan-African Investing in Innovation (i3 program) is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Microsoft and Chemonics to invest in Africa’s most promising early to growth-stage start-ups in health care supply chains.  
• The second cohort comprises 29 startups chosen from 10 African countries. Notably, 38% of these startups are led by women, and 17% operate within Francophone Africa. 
• Selected startups will receive a $50,000 grant and access to market opportunities to foster growth-focused partnerships with donors, industry, and institutional stakeholders. 

Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative for start-ups building the future of healthcare supply chains, is proud to announced its second cohort of 29 companies.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Merck Sharpe & Dohme (MSD), Microsoft, and Chemonics, i3 is dedicated to facilitating the commercialization of promising early- and growth-stage companies. Selected startups receive introductions to leading potential customers in industry, donor agencies and governments, a $50,000 grant, and tailored investment readiness support from leading accelerators Villgro Africa, IMPACT Lab, Startupbootcamp Afritech, and CcHUB. 

The 29 start-ups chosen operate in 21 different African countries, delivering digitally-enabled healthcare supply chain solutions. Innovators are building online pharmacies and telemedicine firms, as well as inventory management services for pharmacies, clinics and hospitals, supply chain data analytics, product protection, product visibility and more. 38% of the companies selected are women-led and 17% are conducting operations in Francophone Africa. The selected companies are, in alphabetical order: Afia Group Limited, Aimcare Health, Bena Care, BioCertica, Chari Pharma, CheckUps Medical, Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Drugstore Nigeria, Famasi Limited, Field Intelligence, Inc, GICMED, Grinta, Healthtracka, Kapsule, Medical Diagnostech, Medpharma Alliance International Limited, Octosoft Technologies Limited, Pharmarun, Pharmaserv Health Project Nigeria Limited, Reductiona, SASA Health Limited, Tech Care For All Eastern Africa, Technovera - Pelebox Smart Lockers, Tibu Health, UltraTeb, Waspito, WellaHealth, and Welo. 

Innovators selected will benefit from the i3’s annual Access to Markets event in Nairobi, which will be held between 14-15 of November. The event facilitates dynamic partnership dialogues between industry stakeholders, governments, donors, and large multilateral agencies. Connections are made to drive the commercialization and scale of the start-ups through mutually beneficial contracts, pilot projects, and investments. The first cohort of 31 companies supported by i3 last year forged 24 contracts, pilots, and strategic partnerships to date. 

Kieran Daly, Director, Global Health Agencies and Funds at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, commented: “As countries and global health institutions work to expand access to priority products, we face an urgent need to leverage solutions across the public and private sectors to improve health outcomes and strengthen local health systems. Programs like i3 help us understand, support and engage with technology-driven solutions emerging across Africa, hand-in-hand with our partners.”  

Yusuf Rasool, Director, Global Market Access, Sustainable Access Solutions at MSD, noted “We are excited to have a second cohort of 29 innovative changemakers in African healthcare enter the program. Investing in these companies are a means of delivering lifesaving solutions and empowering communities through the access of critical medicines across the continent.”  

Jason Dinger, Senior Vice President of Global Products and Solutions at Cencora “The range of startups selected for the second cohort reflects the breadth of talent and creativity in the  African entrepreneurial landscape, and we look forward to witnessing the transformative impact of their solutions in the years to come.” 

i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and SCIDaR and is operationalized by leading technology hubs across the continent: CCHub for West Africa, Startupbootcamp AfriTech for Southern Africa, IMPACT Lab for North and French-speaking Africa, and Villgro Africa for East Africa. 

The Investing in Innovation (i3) is proud to announce its first cohort of 30 companies.  

The 30 startups have been selected from 14 African countries; nearly 50% of the start-ups are women-led, and 30% of the companies operate in Francophone Africa. Operating in early, and growth-stages, the companies are delivering novel solutions for device and medicines distribution, stock management and financing, authentication, traceability, medical waste management and more – demonstrating that African-built solutions are poised to help transform access to health products in many ways. 

The selected startups are, in alphabetical order: Chekkit Technologies, Disrupt Pharma Tech Africa (Medsaf), DrugStoc Ehub Limited, Erith Health Services, Gricd, LifeBank, Lifestores Healthcare, OneHealth, ClinicPesa, Damu Sasa, The Pathology Network, Negus Med, Signalytic,  Viebeg Technologies, Zuri Health, Xetova, Cure Bionics, DeepEcho, Dr Sett, Infiuss Health Limited, Medevice, Meditect, Sobrus, Valorigo, Azanza Health, Appy Saude, Aviro Health, Contro, VaxiGlobal, Zinacare.

 You can read more about the selected companies here. 

Dr Abdullahi Sheriff, Associate Vice President of Global Market Access at MSD noted “The innovation represented by the start-ups selected is inspiring. At MSD, we are excited by the opportunity to collaborate with these leading innovators through i3, to help transform health care supply chains and improve access to medicines across Africa.” 

i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory, SCIDaR, and SouthBridge A&I and is operationalized by leading technology hubs across the continent: CCHub for West Africa, Startupbootcamp Afritech for Southern Africa, IMPACT Lab for North and Francophone Africa, and Villgro Africa for East Africa. These hubs are responsible for the selection process and the follow-up of the startups throughout the program. 

Jason Dinger, SVP, Strategy and Innovation, Amerisource Bergen also commented:  

“Start-ups can play a major role in digitizing supply chains in Africa to help ensure they are resilient, agile, and responsive to the needs of patients. At Amerisource Bergen we are thrilled to support the growth and commercialization of the selected companies, as they work towards impact at scale.”  

Efosa Ojomo, Director, Global Prosperity at the Clayton Christensen Institute, and member of the i3 Steering Committee also commented:   

“i3's focus on African ingenuity is long overdue – supporting locally-led, market creating innovations to scale will equip the continent to achieve health gains, generate prosperity and weather future crises.”  

Prashant Yadav, Senior Fellow, Centre for Global Development, and INSEAD Professor who is Chair of the i3 Steering Committee also commented:   

“The breadth of innovation represented by the cohort of companies selected is confirming that technology-led business model innovations can play an important role in rapidly improving the effectiveness of African health supply chains.”  

Watch the announcement video introducing these incredible innovators here.