Entries Open for Investing in Innovation Africa Third Cohort

The initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation, with backing from MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP  Logistics–a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics.

The organisation will offer select startups three critical resources to prepare themselves for expansion: flexible grants, introductions to potential customers and tailored counsel to close partnership deals.

According to a statement, 15 leading startups will be selected for this cohort including 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution and five growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care.

Early-stage startups will receive a $50,000 grant and growth-stage startups will receive a $225,000 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.

Entries for the 3rd cohort are open until February 28 after which the selected startups will be announced on April 30.

Launched in 2022, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 16  countries, exceeding expectations with 43 per cent women-led and 20 per cent Francophone-led ventures.

The programme since then has provided $3 million in direct grants, and facilitated 450 strategic connections, resulting in over $11 million 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).

Speaking on this, 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 proved, 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.”

On his part, Mr 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.”

According to the statement, a virtual Q&A  session will be hosted by i3 on February 21 to answer any questions regarding the application process. CcHUB and Villgro Africa will spearhead cohort selection, alongside a distinguished panel of African experts.