Because we track locally-driven innovations in health-tech across the African continent, we curate a monthly newsletter to share our most “salient” learnings in more real time. We welcome submissions and suggestions. | December 2023
Our latest report explores the landscape of digital infrastructure at health facilities in Africa’s largest city
Salient Advisory’s new report “Landscape of Digital Infrastructure and Solutions: A Rapid Assessment for Lagos State Ministry of Health” examines the state of digital readiness across health facilities in Lagos, Nigeria, presenting findings on existing infrastructure gaps that are hindering the adoption of digital health solutions, and identifies opportunities for focused intervention to promote intentional transformation in Lagos State’s health facilities and rapidly improve digital health readiness. Read the full report!
Salient is supporting Nigeria’s pharmacy authorities to strengthen regulations and expand product access
The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, with support from Salient Advisory, is revising the country’s 2021 Online Pharmacy Regulations with an aim to strengthen its regulatory framework to enable the distribution of essential medicines and health products through digital channels. This process has involved engaging with key stakeholders including the Federal Ministry of Health, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, online pharmacy innovators, pharmacy regulatory/technical experts, and legal consultants. Learn more about the project here.
Innovators are ending the year strong with growth funding and support
Chefaa, an Egyptian healthtech startup, raised $5.25 million to fuel its expansion to Saudi Arabia. Investors in the round include Newton Partners, Global Brain, GMS Capital Partners, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, and M3 Inc. Founded in 2017, Chefaa provides patient-centric online pharmacy services and stands out as one of the few women-founded health supply chain startups across North Africa.
Still in Egypt, Reme-D, also a woman-founded health startup received a $10,000 grant for winning the She’s Next Competition and a mentorship opportunity with USAID. The startup was also named the winner of the Wharton Africa New Venture Competition claiming a $30,000 prize with three other finalists. Founded in 2022, Reme-D aims to revolutionize disease testing and diagnostics services in Egypt.
Ivorian health-tech startup, Susu secured $4.9 million in funding from INCO Ventures, Al Mada Ventures, Janngo Capital, Open CNP, Health54 (CFAO Healthcare), Launch Africa Ventures, Five35 Ventures, and Plug and Play Ventures. Based in Côte d’Ivoire, Susu is enabling greater access to health insurance, ensuring more affordable care for chronic patients.
Nigerian health-tech startups, EightMedical, and PBR Life Sciences were selected as part of the second cohort for the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator program. The startups will each receive $120,000 in funding and participate in a 14-week immersive program. EightMedical offers emergency medical response services, while PBR Life Science provides medical and pharmaceutical companies with data analytic services.
In South Africa, Deaftouch has been selected to participate in the latest Grindstone Africa accelerator program. Founded in 2018, Deaftouch provides accessible tech-enabled communication solutions for the deaf and blind communities.
More evidence of innovators partnering with governments and expanding their business models
Emergency Response Africa, a Nigerian emergency response health-tech company is collaborating with the Edo state government in Nigeria to improve emergency healthcare response and increase health insurance enrolment in the state. The project is aiming to address systemic challenges in the stat such as low public health trust and communication breakdown.
Cameroonian telemedicine startup Waspito is scaling its operations across Francophone Africa with an offline expansion of its business model. Aiming to reach more users and build an end-to-end service alongside its telemedicine offerings, Waspito is building physical clinics across Côte d’Ivoire. This expansion is driven by a recent $2.5 million investment raised by Waspito to drive growth across Francophone Africa.
Recommended Read
In this op-ed published in African Arguments, our Salient Advisory colleagues share insights on the role of online pharmacies in enhancing health product access in Africa, the need for robust and innovation-friendly regulations, and key learnings from early government adopters based on our ongoing work with regulators across the continent.
It has been a delightful year tracking the growth and evolution of brilliant health technology innovations across the continent, producing intelligence to advance understanding of these innovations and the ecosystems in which they operate, and convening partnerships to rapidly scale the most promising innovations. Thanks for sharing this journey with us in 2023 – let’s do it again next year. Happy holidays from everyone at Salient Advisory!
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