HealthTech Hub Africa is a Health Technology accelerator program based in Kigali, Rwanda. It was founded by the Novartis Foundation.
The purpose of this initiative is to revolutionize health technologies in Africa and hasten innovations in public health systems in direct collaboration with government leaders.
Therefore, HealthTech Hub Africa announced the second Africa HealthTech challenge which is now welcoming applications from start-ups or scale-ups from all African countries.
The first year of the Hub program served as phase one in establishing a blueprint for a public-private mechanism to fast-track HealthTech Innovations for public health in Africa.
For the second year of the program, HealthTech welcomes start-up applications with innovative ideas focusing on the following core themes;
- Cardiovascular health
- Breast cancer
- Virtual health and care
- Optimization of Data-driven decision-making.
This year, HealthTech looks to collaborate with a maximum of 30 startups and 10 scaleups from Africa, to devise health models to support health systems in their digital transformation journeys.
Applicants will be evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate innovation potential to successfully address challenges in one or more of the four thematic areas, their product excellence, team, fit-to-market, sustainability and scalability model in relation to working with the public system.
Eligibility Criteria for an application
The HealthTech hub is only open to HealthTech start-ups and/or scale-ups that meet the following conditions:
- Evidence of a legal entity registered in an African country
- Demonstrated population health impact through their solution
- Teams of two or more full-time employees can apply, and those with a more positive gender balance will be prioritized
- Start-ups must focus on one or more of the four thematic areas of the Hub: cardiovascular health, breast cancer, virtual health and care, and optimization of data-driven decision-making.
- Growth start-ups are not part of another accelerator program in the same year if they are selected
Benefits of applying to the HealthTech Hub’s Program
Growth Start-ups:
- Mentorship from 2 volunteer mentors, per start-up, with strong expertise in population health and technology
- Coaching and access to an interactive platform for growth level support allowing for structuring and refinement of existing and new business models and preparing executive summaries
- Expert masterclasses
- Pitch practice sessions
- Community support
- Startup solution demos and opportunities to pitch during the two annual HealthTech summits in Kigali, Rwanda
- Invitation to networking meetups and hybrid events across Africa and beyond
Scale-ups:
- Access to all the above benefits offered to growth start-ups
- Free access to world-class legal services, accounting, marketing, talent acquisition, and accelerated fundraising
- Media training and exposure
Additional benefits
- Successful applicants will obtain extra perks by becoming members of HealthTech’s Public-Private Partnership Network.
- Funding to support their innovation, to digitize and improve the African health industry by allowing applicants to apply for grants exceeding $1,000,000.
- 12 months of access to state-of-the-art working space, meeting halls and conference spaces.
- Participation certificate at the end of the program, once completed, and access to HealthTech Hub’s Alumni Network, its resources and guaranteed future opportunities
Click here to apply for the Health Tech Hub Africa 2023 challenge
