• Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), is calling for leading healthtech startups to join its 3^rd cohort I3 will offer 15 African startups flexible grants, introductions to major healthcare customers and  support to close partnership deals 
• i3 is funded by a powerful network of global healthcare organizations committed to expanding patient access across Africa: the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP  logistics–a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics. 

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: 

• 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution
• 5 growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care

Early-stage startups will receive a $50K grant and growth-stage startups will receive a $225K 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 $30M,  which will expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.

Applications for the 3rd cohort are open now until February 28th.

Apply here:  

The selected startups will be announced on April 30th.

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 $3M in direct grants, and facilitated 450 strategic connections, resulting in >$11M 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,

“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.”

The selected startups will be announced on April 30th. A virtual Q&A  session will be hosted by i3 on February 21st 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 partnership with Salient Advisory, SCIDaR, SouthBridge A&I as the coordinating team and CCHub, Startupbootcamp, IMPACT Lab, and Villgro Africa as the implementing partners, the program is designed to scale up  African health tech businesses that bring high-quality health products, including medicines, consumables, medical devices, assistive technologies, among others, bringing them closer to where patients are, at affordable prices.

Inspired by the progress and promise of African innovators in supply chain, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, alongside Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), WHO AFRO, AUDA-NEPAD, and AmerisourceBergen, are launching i3.

Benefits

The consortium of donors, industry actors and African institutions will provide 60 promising early and growth-stage start-ups with risk-tolerant funding and access to market support to power innovators’ health impact and scale.

Pillars of the program

Access to Markets: i3’s flagship event that connects innovators to leading local and international industry players, financial institutions, donors, and governments to establish partnerships and pilot projects that fuel impact and scale.

Risk-Tolerant Finance: i3 provides systematic grants of $50,000 to all participating startups. This flexible funding is provided to address key business model needs and advance the startups’ charitable impacts.

Investment readiness support: i3 provides participating startups with tailored investment readiness support, delivered by leading innovation experts at CCHUB, Startupbootcamp Afritech, IMPACT Lab and Villgro Africa.

Eligibility 

i3 powers companies that bring affordable, high-quality health products closer to where patients are. we’re looking for companies solving supply chain challenges with data-driven solutions that include:

• Health Product Availability
• Accessibility of Health Products
• Health Product Quality
• Health Product Affordability
• Visibility of Health Product Movement
• Waste Management in Health Supply Chains

To be eligible to apply, startups meet the following criteria:

1. Representative of the business must be a founder/co-founder, and at least 18 years old with a valid ID document.

2. Company must be owned, led or operated by an African(s). This is defined as having an African national with long-term control and management of the business, an equity stake and an active role in both strategic and day-to-day decision-making. Organization does not need to be headquartered in Africa.

3. Business must have a legal presence on the African continent.

4. Business offerings must be focused on serving the needs of African customers.

5. Business must be in the early or growth stage as defined below. Nascent/idea-stage companies or mature companies (e.g. mature incumbent distribution businesses) are not eligible.

• Early-stage – You must have clearly defined your market, validated customer demand, developed a working prototype and product map and begun to generate revenue, with a strong plan to scale and sustain growth.
• Growth Stage – You must have a strong, well-defined revenue model, sales, and operational capabilities. Your Products and service must be primed to scale, and customer acquisition costs must be declining. You must have evidence of customer acceptance of your products (reflected in sales volumes, beyond early adopters).

6. Business must be technology-enabled and offer data-driven products or services focused on health product distribution.  Non-health businesses with documented plans to offer data-driven products or services focused on health product distribution in the short-term (2-3 months) will also be considered.

7. Businesses must be able to demonstrate that grant funding will generate direct improvements in one or more of the following areas: availability, accessibility, quality, affordability and visibility of critical health products.

8. Nonprofits, consultancies, intermediaries, and consortiums are not eligible.

9. You must show good management and governance.

The program has a special focus on supporting founders who are traditionally excluded, including women-led companies, and companies operating in Francophone Africa.

How to apply 

Be among the 60 companies to participate in the i3 program for African entrepreneurs creating solutions to the health product distribution challenge on the continent. Apply before the deadline on Sunday, August 14, 2022.