Rabat – Southbridge A&I, a Casablanca-based advisory company, Salient Advisory, and SCIDaR, a health-focused research institution, have joined forces to launch a $7 million program dedicated to supporting African e-health startups every year.
Named i3, the program aims to provide funding as well as support for African startups operating in the health sector, according to Disrupt Africa, an innovation-focused media.
The program is sponsored by the Gates Foundation through its Africa program “Investing in Innovation” and aims to incubate 30 African startups annually and offer each of them access to a $50,000 grant.
In addition to providing access to funding, the program is set to support startups access markets, events, as well as the global ecosystem in the healthcare systems, noted Disrupt Africa’s report.
To be eligible for the i3 program, startups should be at their early stage of creation in the growth stage from across Africa. They should equally be developing innovative health solutions with the potential to make a tangible impact on public health.
In particular, the i3 program is seeking African startups that look to enhance the quality, availability, or accessibility of public health services.
In addition, the program looks to support startups developing innovative solutions that have the potential to boost the transparency of the health supply chains.
Four African accelerators will be in charge of selecting startups that qualify for the program.
The accelerators are Startupbootcamp AfriTech in South Africa for Southern African startups, Villgro Africa in Kenya for East Africa, Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) in Nigeria for West Africa, and IMPACT Lab in Morocco for North Africa, the report indicates.
The program has already opened applications for its first cohort; the deadline for submitting applications is August 14.
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