The initiative will leverage Field’s proprietary technology, distribution, and financing services, which today powers a network of over 40,000 private and public healthcare providers in rural and urban areas across Kenya and Nigeria.

The initiative launches with an initial $11m in support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in recognition of Field’s commitment to introduce emerging therapies and supply chain transformation in combating Africa’s most urgent health priorities.

Since its inception in 2015, Field’s streamlined infrastructure has facilitated over 800 million health interventions across more than 60 therapeutic areas, such as family planning, HIV and Tuberculosis.

Starting in Kenya and Nigeria, with scope to expand to other regions. Field will advance on its unique capabilities within complex distribution channels to create an accelerated route to market for emerging therapies and technologies.

This is to include an extensive digitisation overhaul for private healthcare providers, hospitals and healthcare bodies at State and Federal level, with financing options to strengthen operations and purchasing capabilities.

Additionally, healthcare providers stand to benefit from last-mile delivery to improve day-to-day health services and the installation of pharma-grade refrigerators.

In its entirety, the service will be reinforced by the establishment of a coalition to include governments, manufacturers and other key stakeholders for one of the continent’s most ambitious maternal health programs to-date.

Maternal mortality is one of the continent’s most pressing healthcare challenges. The likelihood that a woman will die in childbirth in Africa is 45x higher than in Europe. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa accounted for 69% of global maternal deaths, with Nigeria alone representing 29% of all maternal deaths worldwide in 2020.

Field’s service will provide expectant mothers in Africa access to emerging therapies such as heat-stable carbetocin and calibrated drapes, which detect and treat postpartum haemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal mortality in Africa.

The platform will accelerate these new interventions, support established therapies, and address related complications like preeclampsia.

The consequences of poor or non-existent maternal health services will affect the most vulnerable sections of Africa’s population.

Speaking on the initiative, Michael Moreland, CEO & founder of Field, says, “This is public health powered by technology and today’s news recognises the products and services that Field has built over the past eight years scaled and integrated into large-scale public health programs; this is what we believe health technology companies should be doing; joining innovative, impactful coalitions between private and public entities”.

“Digitally powering, networking, and financing health systems at scale will have an overwhelmingly positive effect on access to quality care. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we are set to rapidly improve mother and child survival in every setting.”

A number of global pharma and health companies have exited the continent in the past 18 months. Moreland adds, “We’ve seen genuine, meaningful gains being made in healthcare delivery outcomes, however in this current tough economic climate, without coordinated systems and processes, the progress will slow or slip. 

Alongside our funders, our role is to ensure this doesn’t happen because the problems the healthcare space is facing will not be solved on its own. This is where Field, and its funders, come in and we’re excited to get to work on this technology-powered infrastructure blueprint for public health services”. 

In addition to this new initiative, Field continues to grow and scale its technology solutions across the continent. In Field Supply, it has created the largest pharmaceutical supply chain platform in Africa.

Its distribution service Shelf Life distributes over 3,000 quality products across more than 50 therapeutic areas, reaching over 2,500 pharmacies and hospitals in 24 cities in Nigeria and Kenya, including government facilities, large hospital systems, retail chains, insurance companies and family-operated drug stores.

The platform also provides trade financing solutions for priority therapies and equipment that addresses working capital constraints that often hinder investment in new medical interventions.

Titled “2023 RoundUp: Investments in African HealthTech”, the report provides analysis on funding trends in African healthtech ecosystems. It provides insights for key stakeholders across governments, investors, donors and global health institutions, and is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

While investments in African startups plummeted last year, mirroring global trends, healthtech showed resilience, experiencing only a 2% dip compared to a staggering 39% decline in the broader ecosystem.

The number of deals in African healthtech rose by 17% year-over-year (YoY) to 145, with total funding of $167 million and an average ticket size of $1.1 million.

In total, 114 innovators received funding in 2023, with 23 receiving multiple investments in the year.

The number of deals for women-led companies remained relatively steady (26 in 2022 vs. 33 in 2023), however, the amount of funding saw a dramatic shift as the gender gaps significantly narrowed: women-led companies secured $52 million in funding –31% of all investments in 2023.

This represents a 2000% YoY increase compared to the $2 million (1.4%) they received in 2022.

Online pharmacy solutions attracted the majority of investor capital, capturing 38% ($63 million) of all funding raised, driven by Series B funding rounds by Kenya’s Kasha ($21 million) and MyDAWA ($20 million), alongside Egypt’s Yodawy ($16 million).

Electronic medical records solutions were the second-best funded category, driven by Helium Health’s $30 million Series B funding round.

Equity investments accounted for 91% of total funding with an average deal size of $3.2 million. This significantly outpaced grants, which only contributed 7% of capital with an average ticket size of $168,000. However, grants continue to play a crucial role in enabling access to early-stage funding for innovators to test and validate their business models. Debt funding remains rare as only one debt-based investment was tracked in 2023.

While still rare, merger and acquisition activity doubled in the past year with four key transactions. The prospect of future funding also appears strong as, despite broader economic headwinds which suggest a slowdown in funding for technology startups, over $600 million in new funding was announced by investors with an interest in African health systems.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Yomi Kazeem, Engagement Manager at Salient Advisory, commented:

“The resilience of African healthtech innovations shines through in the findings of this report. Amid difficult headwinds, these innovations continue to demonstrate commercially viable models that have the potential to improve access to healthcare and deliver impact at scale. The increased funding for women founders is a high point and, in coming years, investors must prioritise sustaining strategies that ensure equitable funding across founders.

Dr. Analía Porrás, Deputy Director, Global Health Agencies and Funds, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, also commented:

“African healthtech has proven resilient over the past year, with innovators receiving investments to test, validate and scale solutions that have the potential to transform health systems across the continent. We are pleased to be playing a role by providing innovators with risk-tolerant capital through the Investing in Innovation program and hope to see the current resilience translate into increased confidence and funding from investors and donors.”

The full market intelligence report is available here.

The Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), in collaboration with the Edo State government and the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is set to bolster the digital solutions ecosystem. 

This initiative goes beyond nurturing innovation; it’s about empowering entrepreneurs to drive global scale in the tech sector of Edo State.

The CcHub is rolling out a plan to provide grants to 50 startups in Edo State through two programs — Inclusion-Focused Support and the Innovation Challenge Program. 

These programs aim to facilitate diversity, inclusivity, and innovation in the Edo State tech community.

Benefits

1. Inclusion-Focused Support Program

For those with underrepresented founders and teams, particularly women in tech, the Inclusion-Focused Support Program offers a commendable opportunity.

Thirty (30) startups will be selected to receive $10,000 each, providing the financial impetus needed for growth and innovation. This program is a gateway for women-led startups to dive into a world of opportunities and catapult their ventures to new heights.

2. Innovation Challenge Program

The Innovation Challenge Program is designed to ignite the spark of creativity and innovation across all tech startups in Edo State.

Twenty (20) startups with excellent ideas and products will be awarded $20,000 each to scale up This program, asides funding will help startups with market potential to innovate, transform, and thrive in the competitive tech sector.

Eligibility

For the Inclusion-Focused Support Program, startups with underrepresented founders and teams, especially women, are encouraged to apply.

This program aims to bridge gaps and create equal opportunities for diverse voices in the tech industry.

The Innovation Challenge Program, on the other hand, is open to all tech startups in Edo State with innovative ideas and products that have the potential to make a mark in the market.

How to Apply

The application deadline for both programs is set for 12 February 2024. To embark on this exciting journey, tech startups in Edo State need to submit their applications.

Investing in Innovation (i3), a pan-African support initiative for African health supply chain startups, has announced its first cohort of 30 companies. 

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, AUDA-NEPAD, and AmerisourceBergen, i3 unites leading donors, industry and African institutions to jump-start a new way of doing business to support African-led innovations in health. 

Selected startups will receive a $50,000 grant and support to catalyse growth-driven partnerships with donors, industry and institutions. 

The 30 companies selected hail from 14 African countries. 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. 

47% of the companies are women-led (which the program defines as having at least one woman with an equity stake and active executive leadership role), and 30% of the companies are operating in Francophone Africa.  

Ann Allen, Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation comments: “Digitally-enabled, locally-led innovations have huge potential to help address the challenges of access to medicines for historically unserved patients in Africa. We are thrilled to see strong women leaders at the helm of many of these start-ups, as we know innovation ecosystems are strengthened by diversity.” 

The selected companies are, in alphabetical order: 

1. Chekkit Technologies
2. Disrupt Pharma Tech Africa (Medsaf)
3. DrugStoc Ehub Limited
4. Erith Health Services
5. Gricd
6. LifeBank
7. Lifestores Healthcare
8. OneHealth
9. ClinicPesa
10. Damu Sasa
11. The Pathology Network
12. Negus Med
13. Signalytic
14. Viebeg Technologies
15. Zuri Health
16. Xetova
17. Cure Bionics
18. DeepEcho
19. Dr Sett
20. Infiuss Health Limited
21. Medevice
22. Meditect
23. Sobrus
24. Valorigo
25. Azanza Health
26. Appy Saude
27. Aviro Health
28. Contro
29. VaxiGlobal
30. Zinacare

Dr Abdullahi Sheriff, Associate Vice President of Global Market Access at MSD noted: “The innovation represented by the startups 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 for Southern Africa, IMPACT Lab for North and French-speaking 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.

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 data-driven innovations can play an important role in rapidly improving the resilience of African health supply chains.”

The pledges come ahead of a global replenishment conference in March to support CEPI’s visionary five-year plan to better prepare for, prevent, and equitably respond to future epidemics and pandemics.

“As the world responds to the challenge of a rapidly evolving virus, the need to deliver new, lifesaving tools has never been more urgent,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “Our work over the past 20 years has taught us that early investment in research and development can save lives and prevent worst-case scenarios. Five years ago, following the Ebola and Zika epidemics, our foundation helped launch CEPI. Today, we’re increasing our commitment and pledging an additional $150 million to help CEPI accelerate the development of safe and effective vaccines against emerging variants of the coronavirus and to prepare for, and possibly even prevent, the next pandemic.”

Since its inception, CEPI has played a central scientific role in curbing epidemics around the world, overseeing a number of scientific breakthroughs and putting pandemic preparedness at the center of the global health R&D agenda.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, CEPI responded immediately, building one of the world’s largest and most diverse portfolios of COVID-19 vaccine candidates—14 in all.

CEPI made early investments in the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which is now saving lives around the world.

Last month, Novavax’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine—funded largely by CEPI—received WHO emergency use listing and is poised to help efforts to control the pandemic globally.

More than 1 billion doses of the Novavax vaccine are now available to COVAX, the global initiative co-led by CEPI that aims to deliver equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

CEPI also continues to work on next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, including “variant-proof” COVID-19 vaccines and shots that could protect against all coronaviruses, potentially removing the threat of future coronavirus pandemics.

“The overriding lesson from this pandemic is the need for effective organizations and systems to be in place and ready before a crisis, as well as acting rapidly based on well-established science when such crises inevitably occur,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome. “Wellcome proudly founded CEPI in 2017 along with partners from Norway, India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Economic Forum following the devastating 2014¬–16 Ebola epidemic. We learned the importance of conducting high-quality research during a crisis. Since then, CEPI has worked tirelessly, and by fostering global collaboration, it has played a truly integral role in the global pandemic response from early January 2020 onwards.”

“Our new commitment of $150 million recognizes the enormous potential CEPI has to protect lives against emerging infectious diseases,” Dr. Farrar continued. “The effects of COVID-19 have been sobering. We urge leaders to provide their support and ensure that CEPI reaches its funding target. It is in the world’s collective interest to avoid repeating mistakes and to help future generations prevent epidemics.”

Beyond COVID-19, CEPI has filled a vital gap in supporting vaccine equity alongside R&D. CEPI is currently supporting the research and development of accessible vaccines against other infectious diseases, including the first-ever vaccines to reach clinical trials against the deadly Nipah and Lassa viruses.

The organization has also played a critical role in efforts to end Ebola, including supporting the development of a second Ebola vaccine by Janssen.

In addition to advancing the science underlying vaccine development and new vaccine platforms, CEPI is focused on dramatically reducing the time it takes to develop lifesaving vaccines against any new viral threat (referred to as “Disease X”)—to within 100 days of a pathogen being sequenced.

This represents a combination of scale and speed that could save millions of lives and trillions of dollars.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how inequitable access to vaccines can put the entire planet at risk and disrupt decades of global health progress,” said Awa Marie Coll Seck, minister of state to the president of the Republic of Senegal. “Innovative global partnerships like CEPI play a critical role in advancing the R&D needed to prevent future pandemics. Importantly, those investments in vaccine technology, particularly in Africa, can also help accelerate progress against other diseases—like HIV, TB, and malaria—that still affect the world’s most vulnerable populations.”

The pandemic has rebounded in waves around the world, highlighting the important role of international organizations like CEPI that put equitable access at the core of their mission.

Recent data from Northeastern University show that had the availability of vaccines in lower-income countries like Kenya been akin to that in high-income countries like the UK or the U.S., 70 percent of COVID-19 deaths to date would have been averted.

“The world must do better at protecting everyone, everywhere against the greatest health threats—from COVID-19 and beyond,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “CEPI’s investments in groundbreaking R&D, commitments to equitable access, and cooperation across the public and private sectors are vital in this effort. We call on global leaders to help CEPI reach its funding target of $3.5 billion.”

The United Kingdom will host CEPI’s replenishment conference on March 8, 2022, in London. The fundraising event will convene governments, philanthropists, and other donors to support CEPI’s five-year plan to tackle the risk of pandemics and epidemics, potentially preventing millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic damage.