The pan-African initiative, Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), funded by the Gates Foundation, Endless Foundation, Cencora, HELP Logistics, MSD, Chemonics, and Sanofi’s Global Health Unit, is calling for innovators to join its 3rd cohort.
This organization supports African health-tech startups to commercialize, offering 3 critical resources to entrepreneurs participating in the event to help them expand. These resources include introductions to potential customers, flexible grants, and tailored advice on closing partnership deals.
i3 plans to select 15 startups for the cohort, with 10 in the early-stage and 5 in the growth-stage. Early-stage startups will receive a $50,000 grant, while growth-stage startups will receive a $225,000 grant.
For startups in the cohort, i3 aims to facilitate at least 150 relationships with key health organizations, with a total value of at least $30 million. This will help expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.
Applications for participation in the cohort are open until February 28th. The selected startups will be announced on April 30th. Tech hubs CcHUB and Villgro Africa will lead the cohort selection, along with a panel of African experts.
In the past two years, i3 has supported 60 health innovators from 16 different African countries. Of these, 43% were women-led ventures. According to the program, i3 has provided $3 million in direct grants, facilitated 450 strategic connections, and established over $11 million in contracted partnerships, which has led to wider reach and nearly 1,000 new jobs, half of which are held by women.