In many African communities, the local pharmacy is the first—and sometimes only—place individuals go to access care. By some estimates, pharmacies provide as much as 70% of initial healthcare visits. This is especially important in rural and other underserved areas where clinics and other healthcare facilities are few and far between.
As a key pillar of the healthcare ecosystem in Africa, pharmacies already play a vital role in bridging critical access gaps – not to mention creating important local jobs. But pharmacies have the potential to be utilized further.
A growing group of partners want to help turbocharge these efforts, sustainably transforming pharmacy care into something exponentially more accessible, efficient and patient-centered.
The Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) program, a pan-African initiative sponsored by some of the world’s leading healthcare organizations, seeks to do just that by supporting African healthtech startups to commercialize and scale their offerings.
This year, i3 has selected 7 of the most promising innovators—operating across 19 countries—that are building the future of pharmacy care in Africa: Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, RxAll and Sproxil.
From companies optimizing pharmacy inventory management and financing, to “bricks & clicks” omnichannel and DTC pharmacies, to innovators specializing in product protection, visibility and market data, this cohort represents of the breadth of pharmacy-focused healthech innovation in Africa.
Each innovator will receive up to $225K in risk-tolerant funding, tailored customer introductions, bespoke deal facilitation, and professional communications and advocacy support. In addition, the cohort will participate in i3’s flagship Access to Markets event in December 2025, designed to spark high-impact partnerships between innovators and large healthcare companies, governments, donors, and multilateral agencies. i3 aims to facilitate another ~150 strategic partnerships and influence deals valued at ~$30M between innovators and major healthcare purchasers.
Today more than ever, African startups—like this latest i3 cohort—that are building sustainable, data-driven approaches to care are necessary to bridge key access gaps—boosting the economy through local job creation in the process. And we couldn’t be prouder to support them, now and into the future.
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i3 is funded by pharmaceutical manufacturers, global distributors and private foundations who believe in building sustainable markets for healthcare: Gates Foundation, MSD, Sanofi, Cencora, Endless Network, Kuehne Foundation/HELP Logistics, Chemonics. In the past 2 years, i3 has provided $3M in direct grant funding to 60 start-ups across 16 African countries. The program has also established a diverse cohort of innovators, with 43% being women-led and 20% Francophone-led. Successes have also recorded 450 facilitated strategic connections, including 122 contracts and pilots, resulting in >$11M in contracted partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created—half of which were held by women. Thanks to the sponsors, Steering Committee, Expert Selection Committee, our partners at SCIDaR, Villgro, CCHub, Wimbart and many others who believe the future of the continent’s health systems will be powered by African innovation and driven by data.
