Salient Advisory studies innovations in healthtech across the African continent. This newsletter summarizes the most interesting news we read each month. Submissions are welcome. Feel free to share.
More governments are adopting innovative solutions to advance public health goals
In Kenya, Siaya county government has partnered with Rescue.co, the country’s largest network of first responders, to enhance access to emergency medical services for expectant mothers and newborns. The move is in line with the county government’s goals to reduce local maternal and neonatal mortality rates – both of which are currently higher than sustainable development goal targets. Founded in 2015, Rescue.co connects provides users with 24/7 access to medical dispatchers, ensuring better outcomes for health emergencies.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the Ministry of Health is working with healthtech startups Care’In and Mediktor to implement a women’s health project focused on the early detection of breast, uterine, and cervix cancers. The project will deploy an AI medical chatbot tool and offer triage services to women attending primary health centers to drive recommendations for follow-on specialist consultation.
In Guinea-Bissau, the National Institute of Health and the Ministry of Public Health, with support from The Global Fund, is partnering with global health technology company, Zenysis Technologies to improve the quality and availability of data to enhance health service delivery locally and strengthen health systems. The partnership will drive the implementation of a National Integration and Analytics Platform, centralizing 20+ fragmented health data systems to facilitate informed decision-making and resource allocation.
Google is supporting innovators with AI-powered solutions through accelerator programs
Egyptian online pharmacy, Chefaa has been selected as part of the first cohort for Growth Academy: Women in AI program, an equity-free program aiming to support women-led startups in the Middle East and North Africa with AI-powered solutions. Founded by Doaa Aref and Rasha Rady, Chefaa leverages AI tools for its GPS-enabled online pharmacy operations which facilitate consumers’ access to health products.
Google Startups: AI for health program has selected six African healthtech companies for its next cohort. The program is supporting startups leveraging artificial AI to transform healthcare and medical research across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). 07 Therapy (Egypt), Motherbeing (Egypt), TIBU Health (Kenya), Zoie Health (South Africa), Thalia Psychotherapy (Kenya) and Healthtracka (Nigeria) were selected and will participate in the three-month program.
Healthtracka‘s selection is timely as it has launched “Lola AI”, AI-driven women’s health solution tailored to provide women with personalized health tips and personal health insights. Founded in 2021, Healthtracka’s main service is built around improving access to diagnostics with home-based testing, sample collection and screening.
Innovators continue to secure investment to scale solutions
Meditect, a health supply chain startup raised an investment round from Launch Africa Ventures, a venture capital firm, one of the continent’s most active healthtech investors. Focused on francophone Africa markets, Meditect provides pharmacies, drugstores, and other pharmaceutical stakeholders with digital solutions for inventory management and procurement.
Mobihealth, a Nigerian telemedicine company, signed a $1.5 million project preparation facility agreement with the African Export-Import Bank to drive the expansion of its services across Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire. Established in 2017, Mobihealth facilitates remote medical consultations and medication delivery for users across Nigeria.
MamaOpe Medicals, a Ugandan-based healthcare device and software company closed an investment round with WiNFUND, a women-focused fund. The company develops technology solutions to improve diagnosis in low-resource settings, including an acoustic device to detect vital signs of respiratory diseases.
Axmed, a digital marketplace service enabling procurement for pharmacies and clinics, raised $2 million in seed funding from Founderful, to grow its operations. Based in the United States of America, Axmed aims to improve health product access in Africa by connecting manufacturers with healthcare institutions and agencies in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
Mass layoffs at a major ecosystem player
Copia, an e-commerce player focused on serving rural residents in Kenya via a network of agents has laid off staff en masse putting doubts over the continued operations. Copia’s business model included offering over-the-counter health products to increase access for residents across rural and peri-urban areas, and at its peak operated across Kenya and Uganda. However, the mass layoffs come after the company wound down its operations in Uganda last year to focus solely on Kenya.
Recommended Read
In Financial Times, this feature piece spotlights African health innovators developing solutions for sight and hearing, shoring up gaps in local markets and reducing patients’ reliance on outside suppliers
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