Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) held its 3rd flagship Access to Markets (A2M) event, a two-day gathering designed to connect Africa’s most promising healthtech companies with strategic partners who can accelerate their commercialization, scale, and impact through contracts, pilots, partnerships, and investments.
On the opening day, i3 announced 3 new transformative deals between leading African healthtech startups and global manufacturers, collaborations that will advance cervical cancer prevention, pharmacy-based access, and malaria care.
MSD and MYDAWA unveiled a collaboration aimed at supporting MYDAWA in enhancing their concierge channel services to strengthen efforts related to cervical cancer elimination.
Through this initiative, MYDAWA will expand access to health-related services, such as at-home and in-clinic options, supported by online booking tools and educational counselling. MSD’s contribution focuses on business and technical expertise, which demonstrates how a collaboration between regional and global innovators can develop new healthcare solutions to people through novel, patient-centered models that help reduce barriers to accessing healthcare.
This initiative is centered on improving access to information and services. It does not involve the supply, promotion or distribution of any vaccines or medicinal products that are not registered.
“We’re excited to support MYDAWA in improving access to healthcare, powered by purpose and technology. Together, we’re meeting communities where they are, forging new paths for patient access and creating health markets. This is how we break down barriers across Africa, through collaborations that enable sustainable and scalable solutions,” said Dr. Priya Agrawal, Vice President, International Health Equity and Partnerships, MSD.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) under the Federal Ministry of Health, and Sproxil to combat malaria by improving access to diagnostics and treatments.
The partnership leverages Sproxil’s test-to-treat model and AI-powered malaria surveillance to provide real-time data from pharmacies and patent medicine vendors, enabling collaboration with pharmaceutical manufacturers and giving NMEP insights to track distribution, monitor disease patterns, and ensure accountability.
This initiative supports Nigeria’s targets of reducing malaria prevalence to below 10% and malaria-related deaths to under 50 per 1,000 live births.
Commenting on the partnership with PVAC and NMEP, Dr. Ashifi Gogo, CEO and Founder of Sproxil said:
“We are honored to partner with Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and the Presidential Initiative For Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) in deploying AI-enhanced surveillance infrastructure that transforms every consumer product verification into timely epidemiological intelligence. This partnership demonstrates that African-led solutions, when properly supported, can drive continental health transformation while ensuring affordable anti-malarials reach the children and families who need them most.”
- Boehringer Ingelheim’s Social Engagement Fund celebrated recent investments in 3 companies driving the future of pharmacy across Africa: Dawa Mkononi (a member of the latest i3 cohort), Kasha, and Reach52.
“We are delighted to invest in three additional startups that deliver a strong impact to communities across Africa,” says Dr. Ilka Wicke, Head of Sustainability Social. “These partnerships reflect our belief that sustainable healthcare solutions are best built through collaboration – with local innovators who understand the needs on the ground and with global partners who can help scale their vision. Together, we’re making meaningful progress toward our goal of improving the lives of 50 million people by 2030. We’re thrilled to celebrate progress with our partners who share this vision across the i3 program.”
Since July, i3 has been working closely with leading innovators focused on the future of pharmacy care in Africa – Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Sproxil and Zuri Health– completing more than 110 bespoke introductions to customers and investors, generating 15 partnerships with a potential value exceeding $20 million.
At an unprecedented pace of more than one advancing partnership per week, i3 continues to deliver best-in-class growth advisory support to African healthtech innovators.
This year’s A2M brought together 15 leading African healthtech startups, whose innovations already power more than 66,000 healthcare providers across 12 African countries and are on track to reach over 167,000 providers by 2028, demonstrating a powerful channel for improving patient access and strengthening health systems.
A2M also convened 41 prominent investors, global and regional pharmaceutical manufacturers, donors, development finance institutions, and multilateral agencies, including Grand Challenges Canada, IFC, World Bank, Pfizer, Causal Foundry, Proqurable, Federal Ministry of Health, PVAC, and i3’s sponsors, who are all working to accelerate scalable innovations, create jobs, and expand healthcare impact across the continent.
“Leading healthtech startups are an increasingly powerful force across Africa, reshaping the continent’s healthcare landscape. Through Access to Markets, these innovators are linked with strategic, high-impact partners across industry, government, donors, and global health agencies, enabling them to better scale their solutions. This approach is rapidly delivering tangible results, as evidenced by the more than 100 meetings being held at this year’s event and the 3 deals announced today,” said Oladunni Lawal, Investing in Innovation Lead.
The event program also includes senior government participation, notably keynote speaker Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Chain, and Dr. Leke Ojewale, Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister of Health for Nigeria.
Through initiatives like A2M, i3 is helping build a sustainable, digitally enabled future for African healthcare–one where locally led innovation, supported by global and regional partnerships, drives lasting impact at scale. i3 is supported by dedicated sponsors – the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Health, HELP Logistics, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim.
