Hundreds of healthtech startups launched across Africa around the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the channel has been growing steadily. Today, the collective reach and potential to expand patient access, reduce market entry barriers for manufacturers, and provide governments with scalable pathways to deliver health products and services is substantial.
From Pilots to Patients: 300,000 Daily Touchpoints and Counting
In December 2025, 15 leading African healthtech innovators gathered at the Investing in Innovation Africa Access to Markets event in Lagos, Nigeria: Advantage Health, Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Elephant, Field Inc., Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Pharmarun, Purelife Pharmacy, Zuri Health, Kapsule, Figorr, Sproxil, and Remedial Health. The data they shared on the healthcare facilities they’re serving, revealing an ecosystem already operating at meaningful scale. Collectively:
- Leading innovators reach more than 65K healthcare providers today
- Conservatively, this translates to over 300K patient touchpoints daily
- By 2028, they project serving 165K providers, facilitating more than 800K daily patient interactions
This is no longer just a collection of apps or pilot projects – it’s infrastructure reaching real people with real healthcare products and services.
Healthtech’s reach is growing in Francophone and Southern Africa
Today, Nigeria and Kenya account for nearly 90% of facilities served by leading healthtech companies. But the map is shifting. Leading healthtech companies expect to reach >18K providers in Francophone Africa and >30K providers in Southern Africa by 2028.
While most innovators are serving private facilities with digital services, Field Inc. stands as a notable exception, reaching nearly 30K public facilities through large-scale government programs — a glimpse of what public-private integration could look like at scale.
The Real Bottlenecks: Contracts and Capital
To power their expansion, the 15 innovators consistently point to two critical enablers: public and private partnerships, and access to working capital. Collaborations with pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers provide the steady product flow necessary to serve providers reliably. Long-term contracts with governments and global health institutions anchor these innovators within national health priorities, supporting new product launches and coordinated service delivery.
Additionally, working capital is needed to purchase inventory, extend credit to providers, expand into rural areas where margins are thin.
What Happens Next Depends on Who’s Paying Attention
Realizing the full potential of this channel requires coordinated investment, strategic partnerships, and supportive policy environments. Investors must recognize these networks as healthcare infrastructure providers, not just tech startups. Manufacturers need to see them as viable routes to market. Governments should engage them as partners in delivering against national health priorities. And global health institutions can leverage them to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage.
The channel exists. The scale is emerging. The opportunity now is to ensure that this reach delivers a lasting, equitable impact. In a continent long defined by gaps in healthcare access, innovators are building networks that work, scale that matters, and pathways that reach those who have historically been left behind.
Check out our short explainer video on the reach of these new channels!
