From the newsletter
A total of nine digital health startups attracted new funding in July and August to improve access to care across the continent’s climate-impacted health systems. Senegal’s Eyone and Côte d’Ivoire’s Meditect secured funding to expand platforms that digitalise medical records and connect health actors, addressing a persistent gap in Francophone Africa’s healthcare systems.
Other startups that received funding include Optique for affordable eye care, Dawa Mkononi for pharmaceutical e-commerce, Tibu Health for on-demand care, CureRoot and Altera Biosciences for biotech innovation, Hewatele for oxygen supply and Be Girl for menstrual health.
Two women-led startups, Altera Biosciences and Be Girl secured funding, signifying inclusivity in this round.
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Eyone raised money to strengthen its digital patient record system. Meditect followed in August with a grant of up to $1 million dollars from Grand Challenges Canada. Both companies aim to make healthcare data accessible in real time and improve trust and efficiency of care in fragmented health systems.
This funding round showed strong regional diversity. Southern Africa attracted investment in biotech and eye care through Altera Biosciences and Optique. Eastern Africa saw raises in pharmaceutical e-commerce (Dawa Mkononi), oxygen supply (Hewatele) and health logistics (Tibu Health). Western Africa advanced digital health integration with Meditect and Eyone.
Southern Africa saw a surge in biotech funding. South Africa’s Altera Biosciences, led by a woman-only founding team, secured up to $2 million to develop a universal donor cell therapy platform. CureRoot, another South African startup, raised up to $1 million to explore drug discovery using African medicinal plants and artificial intelligence. These investments align towards deep science and frontier health innovation in Africa.
Eastern Africa recorded the largest single deal. Kenya’s Hewatele raised $10.5 million to expand its network of oxygen plants and address chronic oxygen shortages that threaten millions of patients. Fellow Kenyan startup Tibu Health raised between $100,000 to $500,000 for its on-demand health services platform.
The two months’ deals reflected a mix of financing instruments. Meditect in Côte d’Ivoire raised through grants, while Be Girl in Mozambique secured a merger and acquisition exit. Altera Biosciences and CureRoot in South Africa attracted pre-seed venture capital while Hewatele in Kenya closed a large venture round.
Our take
Approximately 52% of Africans, or around 615 million people, lack access to essential healthcare, and the quality of services is often subpar, according to a report on Africa's progress towards achieving universal health coverage. Climate change is exacerbating this issue.
By 2025, 50% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is expected to have mobile subscriptions, an increase from 44% in 2023, according to the GSMA’s latest Mobile Economy report released at Mobile 360 – Africa.
Telehealth has the potential to be a vital lifeline in Africa, connecting patients to doctors through mobile devices via direct and video calls.