Africa Health Ventures #16: From South Africa to the World
HearX African Hearing Aid Technology Takes the Global Stage
In 2015, researchers at the University of Pretoria in South Africa founded a company called HearX to make hearing aids more accessible to low-income communities. A few weeks ago, HearX announced $100 million in new funding alongside a merger with the global hearing aid industry leader, Eargo. The kicker? The new consolidated entity, LXE Hearing, will continue to be led by Nic Klopper, the South African that brought HearX to the world.
This is a resounding success for healthtech innovators in Africa. It demonstrates world-class innovations that capture global markets can and have been built here in South Africa. This is a particularly notable success today, at a time when the healthcare industry is changing significantly, foreign investors are pulling back from Africa, and misconceptions still cloud the picture of Africa’s ability to deliver world-class medical device innovations.
So what was the secret to HearX’s success? Alongside deep technical expertise and operational capacity, HearX’s edge arises in part from its South African roots - not in spite of it. Because HearX was created to tackle affordability of hearing aids in South Africa, they pioneered accessible, low-cost software to conduct hearing tests using commercial phones instead of expensive medical equipment. Their products are built on lean innovations, such as hearing aids that retail at a fraction of the cost of competitors. As they grew to capture U.S. markets, they built powerful global partnerships with brands such as Bose and Walmart. In 2023, they were named to the TIME’s list of 100 Most Influential Companies.
Healthcare entrepreneurs, take heart. Yes, it’s been a tough year. But the world is starting to see what we are capable of.
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Deals
Here’s our rundown of funding that went to healthcare ventures in Africa this past month.
🧏♀️HearX, a South African hearing aid company, has merged with Eargo, alongside a $100 million capital infusion from Patient Square Capital, to capture the global hearing aid market.
👩🏫Healthy Learners was awarded $2 million by the Skoll Foundation to scale their work of training teachers as school health workers to increase healthcare access to children.
👩🔬 Mydawa, a leading pharmacy and telehealth provider has received over $9 million from IFU, Alta Semper, AAIC, Creadev, and Ohara Pharmaceutical. MyDawa is an online pharmacy and health platform offering verified medications, lab tests, and telehealth services directly to consumers.
👩💻 The Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) Program has selected 7 scale-up innovators leading the way to improve medicines access across Africa. Each innovator will receive $225k in grant funding.
Sproxil uses mobile technology to reduce counterfeit drugs across the medicine supply chains.
Chefaa is an Egyptian startup offering an AI-powered platform for ordering, refilling, and delivering prescription medications directly to consumers.
mPharma is a Ghanaian healthtech company that manages prescription drug inventory and provides affordable access to medicines through a network of partner pharmacies across Africa.
Meditect is a West Africa-focused healthtech startup that uses blockchain technology to help pharmacies and patients verify the authenticity of medications and prevent counterfeiting.
Dawa Mkononi is a digital ordering platform that helps small pharmacies restock essential medicines efficiently.
Rxall provides AI-powered drug authentication tools and a B2B marketplace to ensure safe, high-quality medicines.
MyDawa as described above.
News
The Beginnings Fund, backed by the Gates Foundation and a host of other funders, has been established to reduce infant and maternal mortality in Africa. A Nairobi based investments team plans to roll out $500 million over the next 5 years to save lives and improve healthcare for mothers and newborns.
The Global Initiative on AI for Health has published its strategic priorities in the journal Nature, including contributions from Africa Health Ventures portfolio founder Tobi Olatunji of Intron Health.
Impact Ventures by J&J Foundation celebrated 5 years of impact investing. In 2025 they invested in three new companies using tech to improve care delivery and health outcomes:
Turn.io, an AI-based chat platform enabling hundreds of healthcare organizations
reach52, an organization that works to improve access to care in rural communities across emerging markets
Mobio Interactive, which unlocks the benefits of tech-enabled mental health care for patients and health workers
AwaDoc and Clafiya have entered into a partnership to expand access to care in Nigeria. AwaDoc provides AI-driven healthcare guidance via WhatsApp while Clafiya is Clafiya a platform for primary healthcare services and health savings.
HelpMum Africa, a Nigerian healthtech startup, has launched Stratify AI—an AI tool to help detect pregnancy risks early. It is now being used by the Oyo and Osun state health ministries as part of HelpMum’s mission to reduce maternal and infant deaths with AI-powered care.
Opportunities
Due May 8: UNICEF FemTech Accelerator Call offers up to $100,000 in grant funding to femtech startups improving the health, safety, and well-being of women and girls.
Due May 9: The Agency Fund is seeking ambitious, evidence-driven projects that expand human agency and improve lives at scale.
Due May 9: Google for Startups Accelerator is open to receiving applications from Africa-based Seed to Series A tech start-ups. Cohort 9 begins in June and will partake in a 3 month hybrid program.
Due May 9: UK South Africa Tech Hub is a sprint program exploring UK market access, fundraising, or expansion. It offers strategic UK connections for South African startups looking to expand to the UK.
Due May 11: OST Program 2025 is accepting applications from early-stage startups across Africa. Selected teams will receive $20K investment, mentorship, and investor linkages.
Due May 11: Westerwelle Startup Haus Tunis STRIDE II supports Tunisian startups to expand to East African markets
Due May 15: UNICEF Startup Lab Ghana is a six-month accelerator for impact-driven startups working to improve the lives of children and young people.
Due May 18: Orange Corners Nigeria Incubation Programme supports entrepreneurs aged 18–35 with training, business incubation, and access to funding up to €30,000. The program is open to Nigerian citizens with innovative business ideas or existing startups working in Ogun State.
Due May 23: Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition 2025 is offering grants of up to $300K to 10 outstanding African entrepreneurs.
In 2024, the grand prize went to Senegalese healthtech company Eyone, building a medical interoperability platform.
In 2023, the grand prize went to WellaHealth, providing a digital backoffice for healthcare insurance in Nigeria.
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.
Due June 8: D-Prize Challenge is offering up to $20,000 in startup funding to entrepreneurs who can scale proven poverty solutions in areas like health, education, agriculture, and energy. The focus is on distribution—getting existing interventions to the people who need them most.
Due June 9: TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 invites early-stage startups to compete for a $100,000 equity-free prize and global exposure. Selected teams will pitch onstage in San Francisco and gain access to expert coaching, investor meetings, and media coverage.
Due June 15: EY SDG Accelerator for Women Entrepreneurs invites women-led AI ventures in Africa, Latin America, and South/Southeast Asia to apply for a 6-month program supporting solutions aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Due June 24: Cartier Women’s Initiative as part of their regional and thematic awards are recognizing talented impact entrepreneurs who are leveraging business as a force for good.
Open July 14-July 30: The Big Pitch 2025 – Cape Town Qualifier invites early-stage South African startups to compete for a chance at a $1 million investment.
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: PennPromise Ventures wants to hear from pre-seed and seed-stage startups addressing core challenges in key economic sectors.
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: Antler, Nigeria is an 8-week in-person program that offers $100K for 10% in companies that pass the Antler Investment Committee.
Events
May 12-13 in Abidjan: Africa CEO Forum
May 14-15 in London: Impact Investing World Forum
May 19-27 in Geneva: World Health Assembly
May 20 in Geneva: Winfund 2.0 Demo Day
May 20-21 in London: Impact Investor Global Summit
May 20-23 in Geneva: Geneva Health Forum
May 21-23 in Oslo: Katapult Future Fest
May 22 in Osaka: Cartier Women’s Pavilion at the World Expo
May 22 in Geneva: Geneva Digital Health Day
June 5-8 in Utah: Sorenson Impact Summit
June 6 in London: Africa Tech Summit London
June 10 in London: Tech in Ghana Conference
June 11-13 in Accra: Africa Impact Summit
June 11-14 in Paris: VivaTech
June 16-18 in Amsterdam: SuperReturn Emerging Markets
June 16-19 in Amsterdam: HLTH Europe
June 26-28 in New York: NEXUS
July 16-17 in Abuja: Africa Health Business Symposium
Behind the Scenes in Lagos
Healthcare startups in Africa today often get sidelined by all the attention paid to innovations in other sectors (such as finance and AI). To counteract this, Africa Health Ventures organized a Healthcare Mixer in Lagos last week to connect leading African healthcare founders to investors. Working with our partners Digital Health Nigeria and WellaHealth, we hosted an intimate gathering of 25 investors to meet leading healthcare companies such as Remedial Health, Drugstoc, Lifestores Pharmacy, eha Clinics, and more. The event was a resounding success not only in connecting founders to funders but also to foster meaningful dialogue on what’s working and what’s missing for healthcare in Africa.
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Lovely to see this