The Power of African-Led Innovation in Transforming Healthcare

The Power of African-Led Innovation in Transforming Healthcare

Despite substantial gains in recent decades, access to quality healthcare continues to remain out of reach for millions across Africa. This is largely due to poor infrastructure, insufficient funding in health and too few healthcare facilities and frontline workers, especially in rural and other underserved areas. These challenges contribute to alarming mortality rates, from both infectious diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, as well as a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, which now account for 37% of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Africa’s fractured healthcare system is further strained by the continent’s heavy reliance on imports and international aid for essential medicines, vaccines, and medical equipment, driving up costs and causing frequent supply shortages, while its growing pharmaceutical market, projected to reach $13.66 billion by 2025, still struggles to meet the demand for affordable and reliable healthcare solutions.

Addressing these challenges has been exacerbated by recent global policy shifts, such as the U.S. administration’s “stop-work” order on foreign aid, which has critically reduced foreign investment in Africa’s healthcare system. In light of these changes, it’s clearer than ever that Africa’s future must rely on locally-driven, sustainable solutions.  

Why African-Led Innovation Is Key to Bridging Healthcare Gaps

African innovators have firsthand knowledge of where limited healthcare access in rural and underserved areas and high costs of essential medicines put life-saving treatments out of reach. They also intimately understand how on-the-ground challenges such as unreliable supply chains and poor infrastructure hinder last-mile delivery of health products and services. With this localized market intelligence, African innovators are more likely to prioritize practical, low-cost, high-impact solutions that ensure last-mile delivery rooted in local networks, while leveraging Africa’s mobile-first economy to expand access. 

However, innovators still face major hurdles to scale their solutions due to lack of funding, limited networks and the bureaucratic complexities that come with operating within the healthcare system, from securing regulatory approvals to competing with larger corporations for finite funding.

i3’s Approach: Empowering African Healthtech Innovators

At Endless Network, we are committed to advancing people-centered, technology-driven healthcare solutions that empower individuals and communities. This includes supporting African-led innovations with the potential to address the region’s most pressing healthcare challenges. That’s why we’ve partnered with Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a groundbreaking initiative that bridges critical healthcare gaps by connecting African innovators with global donors, industry leaders, and governments. Through funding, mentorship, and strategic partnerships, i3 helps African startups commercialize and scale their solutions, driving real impact and transforming healthcare across Africa. 

This approach has already proven effective in addressing the exclusion of women-led and Francophone startups from investment capital. In Africa, women-founded startups received just 1% of total VC funding in 2024, while Francophone Africa secured only around 10% of total funding in 2022. Despite these challenges, over the past two years, i3 has empowered 60 health innovators across 16 African countries—43% of which are women-led and 20% Francophone-led. Through this program, these startups have received $3M in direct grants, built 450 strategic connections, and secured over $11M in contracted partnerships, giving local innovators, who are often overlooked and lack access to funding and networks, the support they need to grow and scale their solutions.

A real-life example of i3’s impact can be demonstrated through Figorr, a Nigerian startup tackling the challenge of vaccine preservation through a low-cost, tech-enabled device that ensures supply chain visibility for temperature-sensitive medicines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria struggled to maintain the ultra-cold temperatures needed for millions of incoming vaccines, putting doses at risk of spoilage. i3 recognized Figorr’s potential, selecting the startup into its program and connecting it with key stakeholders, including the Nigerian government. These partnerships allowed Figorr to scale its solution, ensuring real-time monitoring of vaccines nationwide. Today, Figorr has tracked over 200 million vaccines, improving distribution, reducing wastage, and ultimately saving lives across Africa.

The Role of Pharmacies in Expanding Healthcare Access

Pharmacy-based initiatives are another key component of sustainable healthcare advancement. In 2025, i3 will fund several growth stage startups with pharmacy-focused innovations in primary care, digital health technologies, and robust supply chains. 

Pharmacies and drug shops are at the heart of healthcare delivery in many African countries, and in some cases provide up to 50-70% of healthcare services. In the absence of sufficient aid, these providers could be a highly cost-effective means of reaching people with essential services. Pharmacies serve as frontline healthcare touchpoints, ensuring communities have access to medicines, consultations, and preventive care, particularly in areas where formal healthcare facilities are scarce.

At Endless Network, we recognize the crucial role of pharmacies in the healthcare ecosystem and partner with key organizations in this space. We’ve contributed to several pharmacy-focused initiatives over the years, starting with our investment in the Bangladeshi social enterprise Jeeon over a decade ago. Our current portfolio of investments includes a systematic landscaping of the pharmacy sector through our grant to Results for Development (R4D), AI-driven clinical decision support for pharmacies developed in collaboration with E-Health Africa, and D-Tree's Afya-Tek program, which integrates pharmacies with community health workers and healthcare facilities to create a seamless continuum of care. 

Through pharmacy-based innovations like these, we can continue to help expand access to essential health services for millions of people across Africa.

The Road Ahead: Building a Stronger Ecosystem for African Healthcare

The future of healthcare in Africa hinges on the support and empowerment of its innovators. In order to fully unlock their potential, collective effort is required. That’s why we’re proud to support organizations focused on transforming Africa’s healthcare landscape. By fostering partnerships among industry leaders, donors, and African institutions, and championing innovative solutions, we’re committed to building a sustainable healthcare ecosystem that empowers local innovators and ensures patient care is available to all who need it. 

Photo credit: Figorr.