Africa Health Ventures #15: Heating Up
Healthcare businesses in Africa forge ahead despite global market shifts
Though the news has been grim these past few months, healthcare businesses in Africa have been busy. Healthcare is an essential market, so the work continues, with or without USAID. Read on to learn about 12 deals, 20 opportunities, and 14 events relevant to healthcare founders in Africa.
If someone forwarded you this email, subscribe to get future editions every month in your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time, and we don’t share your email with anyone.
Deals
A rundown of the major deals and funding that went to healthcare ventures and investors in Africa this past month.
💬 Turn.io has secured a $3.15 million investment from leading impact investors, including The Agency Fund, Delta Fund, Dovetail Impact Foundation, Impact Ventures by Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Mulago Foundation, PagerDuty, and UBS Optimus Foundation. Founded by Gustav Praekelt, Pippa Yeats, and Simon de Haan, the South African company provides a chat-based platform that enables social impact organizations to scale access to trusted information, empathetic support, and vital services across the Global South.
🩺 Wayak has raised an undisclosed amount from Launch Africa Ventures to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare in Africa. The Egyptian healthtech startup offers discounted chronic medications with monthly delivery, 24/7 online doctor consultations, lab test discounts, and mobile-accessible health records.
🚛 Viebeg has received an undisclosed investment from Save the Children Global Ventures to enhance access to pediatric medical equipment in Rwanda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The healthcare supply chain company utilizes AI-powered procurement solutions to provide certified medical supplies directly from manufacturers, improving healthcare delivery in underserved regions.
🏥 Grinta in Egypt has secured an undisclosed funding round from Beltone Venture Capital and Raed Ventures to support its strategic shift from a B2B pharmaceutical marketplace to a hybrid healthcare provider. The Egyptian health-tech startup has also acquired Citi Clinic, a primary healthcare chain serving over 150,000 patients, aiming to integrate online and offline healthcare services and expand into East Africa and Tanzania.
🤰 MotherBeing secured funding from us at Africa Health Ventures to support its mission to improve women’s health in the Middle East and North Africa. The Egyptian startup offers sexual and reproductive health education, teleconsultations, and curated wellness products tailored to women’s needs in the Arab world.
🏆 Eyone received a $300,000 grant as the 2024 grand prize winner of the Africa Business Heroes (ABH) competition, funded by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy. The Senegal-based health tech company offers digital health record systems and hospital management tools to improve healthcare delivery across Francophone Africa.
⚕️ Purelife Pharmacy was awarded a $100,000 grant as one of the 2024 Top 10 finalists in ABH. The Nigeria-based company operates a tech-enabled chain of community pharmacies focused on improving access to affordable and quality medication.
💊 Chefaa secured a $100,000 grant as one of the 2024 Top 10 finalists in ABH. Based in Egypt, the company provides an e-pharmacy platform that helps patients—especially those with chronic illnesses—order, schedule, and refill medications online with doorstep delivery.
📦 Sevi has secured an undisclosed investment from Renew Capital to enhance its "Stock Now, Pay Later" platform in Kenya. The fintech company leverages AI and machine learning to provide credit to retailers for stock purchases while ensuring suppliers receive upfront payments. Among other products, Sevi’s financing streamlines distributions of medicines through its service to Philmed, a major Kenyan pharmaceutical distributor.
🏥 Summit Africa has acquired 55% shareholding in St Mary’s Hospital, located in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Summit Africa is an impact-driven alternative investment firm based in South Africa.
💰 LoftyInc Capital Management has a $43 million first close for its new LoftyInc Alpha Fund, attracting commitments from investors including FMO, Proparco, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). This late-seed focused investment vehicle aims to drive growth for Africa’s most promising tech startups across key geographies, in various sectors including healthcare.
💰 Swedfund has committed €15 million to AfricInvest Small Cap Fund. This will support underserved SMEs across Africa in a range of sectors including healthcare.
News
Zipline is in expansion talks to deliver essential medicines to an additional five states in Nigeria. Zipline is a drone company first launched in Rwanda, now valued at $4.2B after its $330M Series F raise in 2023.
The HealthTech Hub Africa announced 21 healthcare startups accepted into its 2025 cohort. The 2025 cohort includes Africa Health Ventures portfolio company DOT Glasses as well as other notables such as Drugstore.ng, UltraTeb, Vittas, and Pana+Care.
In a single year, M-KOPA and Turaco partnered to insure over 1 million Kenyans by bundling hospital cash insurance with smartphone purchases. The coverage provides Ksh 1,000 per day (around 8 USD) for hospital stays.
Google for Startups South Africa celebrated the graduation of its first cohort, including CureRoot, Welo Health, and Zoie Health. CureRoot also won the AfricArena "Best AI / Deep Tech Start-Up" award at the recent Johannesburg Summit.
Safaricom M-PESA Ethiopia partnered with Ethiopia’s Health Ministry to roll out digital payments in the public healthcare system. The partnership will bring M-PESA’s digital payment tools into health facilities, powering cashless medical payments, streamlining insurance payments, and delivering salary to Health Extension Workers.
e& joined the UAE’s Fathers’ Endowment campaign, which funds healthcare services for underserved communities. e& was formerly known at Etisalat, a telecommunications company active in a dozen African countries.
Huawei launched AI-powered tools to support diagnosis and data management, already used in 5,600 healthcare facilities across 110+ countries.
Opportunities
Due April 8: Wellcome Discovery Awards provide flexible funding for researchers tackling bold and innovative ideas in health-related sciences. The average award size is £3.5 million over 7 years.
Due April 8: TractionBoost Accelerator is a 2-month intensive program designed for early-stage startups focused on product testing and customer acquisition. Selected startups receive tailored funding between $2,000 and $5,000 USD, access to industry-leading mentors, and networking opportunities with potential investors.
Due April 10: European Microfinance Award 2025 – Building Resilience through Inclusive Insurance is offering a €100,000 prize to organizations enabling low-income and vulnerable people to manage risk through effective insurance solutions.
Due April 10: Inclusive Insurance Challenge Fund invites insurers, insurtechs, and intermediaries to develop innovative insurance products addressing the unmet needs of vulnerable populations. The first-place winner will receive a $40,000 prize.
Due April 11: Resilience Innovation through Scaling Entrepreneurship (RISE) Urban Challenge seeks innovative solutions addressing urban resilience challenges in informal contexts. Winners can receive up to $50,000 in funding, along with tailored mentorship and investor connections.
Due April 13: Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator is seeking mission-driven social enterprises focused on women's economic empowerment or climate resilience. The program offers mentorship, resources, and potential investment readiness support to help scale your impact.
Due Apr 17: MIT Solve 2025 Global Health Challenge is seeking innovative solutions to improve health outcomes worldwide. Selected teams receive at least $10,000 in funding, with the potential for additional prize funding and support from the Solve community.
Due April 18: AfCFTA Digital Innovation Challenge invites African innovators aged 18–35 to develop digital solutions addressing cross-border trade barriers for MSMEs.
Due Apr 20: WFP Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator is offering up to $150,000 in equity-free funding for tech-driven solutions that support crisis-affected populations. It’s open to startups, NGOs, and organizations ready to scale, with a focus on solutions active in high-need regions like Somalia, Syria, and Ukraine.
Due Apr 20: The United Nations World Food Programme is seeking applications from established startups, NGOs, companies, and organisations ready to scale impactful solutions to crisis-affected populations.
Due April 23: The WHO has released a request for proposals for a contractor to implement the SMART Guidelines Digital Adaptation Kit for integrated community health.
Due Apr 24: The Trinity Challenge: Community Access to Antibiotics is looking for solutions that improve equitable access to antibiotics while combating antimicrobial resistance. Two grand prizes of £500,000 will be awarded.
Due April 24: The Grand Challenges Canada program has launched its "Play, Learn, Thrive" initiative offering seed grants of up to $250,000 CAD for innovations supporting early childhood development and education in emergencies.
Due April 30: Young Impact Associates in Agrifood Systems Fellowship is open to young professionals aged 18–35 from Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The year-long program focuses on impact measurement in agrifood systems, offering training and mentorship to drive transformational change.
Due April 30: Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa 2025 is a program by Village Capital and Norad supporting startups in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The emphasis is on startups promoting food security and climate adaptation.
Due May 31: Target Gender Equality Accelerator is a six-month program by the United Nations Global Compact, designed to help companies advance gender equality across their operations and supply chains. Participants will engage in workshops, peer learning, and receive expert guidance.
Due September 7: 2025 Ebbe Nielsen Challenge is calling for innovative tools that leverage biodiversity data to advance open science. Winners will share a prize pool of up to €20,000.
Ongoing: The Transform Health Fund is calling healthcare companies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to apply for potential investment to support the building of Africa’s healthcare ecosystem. They focus on companies working in healthcare supply chains, care delivery, and digital innovation.
Ongoing: Africa Health Ventures makes equity investments into seed-stage health tech startups in Africa that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare on the continent and around the world. Apply on our website.
Ongoing: Antler, Nigeria is an 8-week in-person program that offers $100K for 10% in companies that pass the Antler Investment Committee.
Ongoing: KPMG Female Founders in Africa Competition: This competition seeks ambitious, high-growth ventures led by women, providing support, resources, and networking opportunities.
Events
April 1-4 in Oxford: Skoll World Forum
April 3-4 in Kigali: Global AI Summit on Africa
April 4 in Kigali: Women in Health Tech Forum
April 14-16 in Marrakech: GITEX AFRICA
April 24 in London: Africa VC Forum
April 28–May 2 in Lagos: AVCA Conference & VC Summit
April 24-26 in Paris: ChangeNOW
April 29-30 in The Hague: Invest in Africa Summit
May 14-15 in London: Impact Investing World Forum
May 21-23 in Oslo: Katapult Future Fest
June 5-8 in Utah: Sorenson Impact Summit
June 11-13 in Accra: Africa Impact Summit
June 11-14 in Paris: VivaTech
June 16-19 in Amsterdam: HLTH Europe
Myths and Realities of Investing in Africa
In case you missed it, last month our podcast hosted a teardown of the myths and misconceptions of investing in Africa. We invited two leading venture capitalists in Africa to field tough questions from a room full of experienced international investors. Our guests included Bongani Sithole, CEO of 54 Collective and the most active investor in Africa, and Lelemba Phiri, Founding Partner of ATG Samata, a leading African gender lens investor.
🎙️Catch the full interview wherever you get your podcasts.
That’s a wrap for this month. Please share reactions, deals, news, or events with us on our LinkedIn page. You can also:
👍 Follow us on LinkedIn
🪙 Nominate a startup for seed funding
🤝🏻 Invest with us
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
We’ll be back next month. Thanks for reading!