African companies receive funds to address climate health

From the newsletter

In February, five African companies secured funding to tackle climate-related health challenges. Three of these companies specialise in agriculture and food security, while the remaining two provide telemedicine services. Medikea in Tanzania and Motherbeing in Egypt are among the innovators receiving financial backing in 2025 to expand their digital health services.

• In food security, Agriarche and Wami Adro have received loans of $0.5 million and $2 million, respectively. These two agritech companies support smallholder farmers in Nigeria and Ghana by providing market access, climate protection, and credit services.

• The fifth company, Qualipharm, produces high-quality baby food under the Calimi brand, made from natural African ingredients that meet global standards. The product is distributed through pharmacies and an online subscription service.

More details

• West Africa has the highest representation on the list of five companies, with Agriarche from Nigeria, Wami Agro from Ghana, and Qualipharm from Benin leading in the agriculture and food production sectors. Notably, Agriarche stands out with a women-only founding team. In Northern Africa, Motherbeing in Egypt features a gender-diverse team that offers AI-driven health solutions.

• Wami Agro will utilise the new investment to expand its operations into neighbouring Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso and to launch its proprietary digital farm management platform, Pukpara. The company has established a network of over 14,000 smallholder farmers across six regions in Ghana and aims to support more than 100,000 farmers across West Africa.

• Agriarche, a female-founded agritech startup, provides farmers and aggregators with services in storage, inputs, logistics, and payments. Its mobile platform, Kasuwa, connects them to over a dozen offtakers, including food processors and Nigerian consumer goods brands.

• The $0.5 million working capital loan from the Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA) will aid in scaling its operations. The $24 million SEFAA fund, launched in 2021 with support from the German development bank KfW, offers debt financing for small to medium-sized agribusinesses in Africa.

• Medikea is a healthcare platform that provides virtual consultations and in-person appointments. Through its mobile app, users can access care around the clock, chat with doctors, and receive medications delivered to their doorstep. The platform also offers at-home lab tests, specialist referrals, and digital access to medical records.

• Qualipharm’s Calimi brand offers scientifically formulated baby food made from locally sourced African ingredients, adhering to global standards. With over 180 pharmacy resellers and an online e-shop, Calimi ensures convenient, tech-enabled distribution to parents across Benin.

• Through the Daleela app, Motherbeing offers assistance focused on women's health. It provides personalised, AI-powered answers to health questions and connects users with licensed doctors for online consultations, diagnoses, and treatments. The app also features educational programmes covering topics such as menstrual health, fertility, birth control, and nutrition.

Our take

• African companies are leading the charge in addressing the intersection of climate change and health, demonstrating the continent's capacity to innovate in these crucial areas. 

• It is interesting to note that the continent has ideas on how to address climate health, it only needs more funding.