From the newsletter
A generation of healthtech startups in Africa are building smart, last mile solutions yet most of them lack finances to scale and reach underserved communities. They include drone-delivered blood, AI-powered diagnostics, WhatsApp consultations, simple cold chain equipment, home sample collections, digital data tools and more.
Dr Mike Adeyemi Lawal, a Malaria and Infectious Diseases Specialist Advisor at Médecins Sans Frontières, explores several ways that health tech startups in Africa can secure funding to scale and the organisations that can fund or partner with them.
“While African health tech founders have access to a growing variety of funding sources, each suited to a specific phase of start-up maturity, understanding these funding options is crucial for navigating both health outcomes and commercial sustainability.” Says Dr Adeyemi.
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By Dr Mike Adeyemi-Lawal, Malaria and Infectious Diseases Specialist Advisor at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Health tech is becoming one of Africa’s most dynamic and transformative innovation sectors, reshaping how people access care, manage disease, and interact with health systems. From mobile diagnostics and telemedicine to digital supply chains and health financing platforms, startups across the continent are addressing long-standing gaps in affordability, accessibility, and efficiency. While demand for tech-driven healthcare solutions continues to grow, founders' ability to scale these innovations depends heavily on access to appropriate, sustainable funding.
Unlike other tech sectors such as fintech or logistics, health tech operates at the complex intersection of public health, regulation, and technology. This means startups often face longer validation cycles, stringent regulatory processes, and dependence on public-sector or donor partnerships. These complexities often cause investors to proceed carefully before committing capital. However, the funding landscape is rapidly changing. Today, African health tech founders have access to a growing variety of funding sources, ranging from seed-stage grants and impact-focused venture funds to growth-stage and infrastructure investors, each suited to a specific phase of start-up maturity. Understanding these funding options is now crucial not only for securing capital but also for navigating the unique ecosystem where health outcomes and commercial sustainability must coexist.
Early-Stage and Seed Funding
For startups at the concept or pilot stage, grants and early equity remain the primary lifeline. These sources provide the breathing room needed for regulatory validation, product testing, and early market entry, often without the immediate pressure of revenue performance.
Villgro Africa is a leading player in this space. It provides a mix of seed-stage grants and equity investment to startups focused on improving access to healthcare. Beyond funding, Villgro offers business incubation, mentorship, and access to clinical and regulatory networks, helping startups progress from prototype to a viable enterprise.
Similarly, Jaza Rift Ventures, a venture capital firm, provides early-stage investments ranging from $50,000 to $500,000. The fund focuses on healthtech and medtech startups that address gaps in diagnostics, telemedicine, and health service delivery across Africa. Its proactive approach bridges the gap between angel investment and institutional capital, helping startups prepare for larger funding rounds.
Also, Pan-African programs such as the Investing in Innovation (i3) Initiative through the i3 program provide $50,000 equity-free grants to health tech startups improving medical supply chains, offering not just funding but also access to corporate partners, regulatory guidance, and visibility across African markets.
Seed to Pre-Series A
Once startups have validated their products and demonstrated early traction, they often seek institutional funding to scale regionally or strengthen operations.
HealthCap Africa plays a vital role at this stage, focusing on seed- and pre-Series A-stage investments of $250,000 to $2 million. The fund backs scalable digital health and medtech solutions that address systemic healthcare issues, such as patient management systems, pharmacy supply chain technologies, and telehealth platforms.
Health54, the venture arm of CFAO Group, offers €250,000 to €5 million across seed to Series B stages. Startups in the Health54 portfolio benefit not only from financial support but also from access to CFAO’s extensive healthcare distribution network and regulatory expertise throughout West and Central Africa.
Growth-Stage and Expansion Funding
For health tech companies ready to expand beyond national borders or to integrate more deeply into healthcare infrastructure, growth-stage investors provide the capital required for scale.
Investment Funds for Health in Africa (IFHA) focuses on growth-stage investments between $5 million and $20 million, targeting healthcare infrastructure, insurance, and service delivery platforms. Its portfolio typically includes hospital groups, diagnostic networks, and large-scale digital health service providers operating across multiple African countries.
Similarly, Vital Capital invests between $10 million and $30 million in healthcare infrastructure projects and impact-driven enterprises. The fund concentrates on sustainable and socially inclusive healthcare businesses, that is, those enhancing service delivery, access, and quality while securing strong financial returns.
LeapFrog Investments, a global impact investor active across Africa and Asia, complements this tier with $10 million to $50 million in growth-stage funding for digital health and financial inclusion platforms. LeapFrog’s interest lies in companies using technology to deliver affordable health services to low- and middle-income populations, particularly through insurance-linked or data-driven care models.
Corporate and Philanthropic Partnerships
The intersection of corporate capital and philanthropy has created a hybrid model that combines financial investment with access to expertise and market reach. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through its partnership with the i3 Initiative, continues to fund health tech innovators addressing supply chain inefficiencies and public health challenges. In parallel, Sanofi provides pharmaceutical-focused grants and regulatory support for startups integrating diagnostics, telemedicine, and supply-chain technologies into mainstream healthcare.
The Emerging Funding Structure
Africa’s healthtech funding ecosystem is maturing into a layered structure that aligns with startup growth paths. This structured pathway marks a turning point for African health innovation. Rather than relying solely on fragmented grants or sporadic venture interest, the ecosystem now offers a coherent progression from idea to impact.
The next frontier is enhancing local capital resources and regulatory frameworks to enable African healthtech entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions within the continent, thereby improving health outcomes and creating economic opportunities.