Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative to support African healthtech startups to commercialise and scale their offerings, is calling for leading innovators to join its 3rd cohort. Funded by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics – a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, i3 will offer select startups 3 critical resources to prepare themselves for expansion: flexible grants, introductions to potential customers and tailored counsel to close partnership deals.
i3 is selecting a total of 15 leading startups for this cohort: with 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution, and 5 growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care.
Early-stage startups will receive a $50,000 grant and growth-stage startups will receive a $225,000 grant to unlock major partnerships that can expand patient access across the continent. For startups in the cohort, i3 aims to facilitate at least 150 relationships with key healthcare organizations, worth at least $30 million, which will expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.
Applications for the third cohort are open now until February 28, 2025. The selected startups will be announced on April 30, 2025.
A virtual Q&A session will be hosted by i3 on February 21, 2025 to answer any questions regarding the application process. i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and Solina Center for Research and Development (SCIDaR). Leading tech hubs CcHUB and Villgro Africa will spearhead cohort selection, alongside a distinguished panel of African experts.
In just two years since its launch, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 16 countries, exceeding expectations with 43% women-led and 20% Francophone-led ventures. The program provided $3 million in direct grants, and facilitated 450 strategic connections, resulting in over $11 million in contracted partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created – half of which were held by women. i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and Solina Center for Research and Development (SCIDaR).
Dr. Uchenna Igbokwe, CEO, SCIDaR, said: “With the right resources, African-led companies can scale commercially while reaching underserved communities and creating jobs. The i3 program has been able to prove, in just two years, that an actively engaged network of leading global health institutions and partners can power African innovators to solve critical African problems in healthcare.”
Oghenetega Iortim, CEO of Figorr, a company that provides end-to-end supply chain tracking technology and an i3 alumni, said: “We partnered with the Nigerian government to track over 200M health products. Through i3 we met with major global customers who were excited to find ways to expand Figorr’s impact both in Nigeria, and beyond. We’re grateful to i3 for opening these doors.”
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