Local firms top innovators list in African healthcare

Healthtech consulting firm Salient Advisory has named MYDAWA, Maisha Meds and 22 other health firms as the leading innovators that are transforming healthcare systems across Africa.

In its latest Market Intelligence report titled „Leading Innovations Enabling Health Product Access in Africa”, Salient Advisory says it has identified 24 innovators over the past six years.

They include Chefaa, DrugStoc, Field Inc, Figorr, Grinta, HealthPlus, Kasha, LifeBank, Maisha Meds, Meditect, mPedigree, MYDAWA, Pendulum, PharmaSecure and Remedial Health.

Others are RxAll, Sobrus, Sproxil, Talamus Health, VIA Global Health, Viebeg, Wingcopter, Yodawy and Zipline. Having operated for 10 years on average, the 24 health tech innovators are now reaching around 50,000 providers (who serve hundreds of thousands of patients per day) and delivering health products to millions of consumers directly-according to the report.

“Despite economic challenges, they have advanced African healthcare, forming partnerships with over 100 manufacturers, 75 public health institutions, and nearly 50,000 providers in 33 countries”, the report reads in part.

Speaking during the launch of the report, the engagement manager at Salient Advisory said the findings have depicted the remarkable resilience and growing impact of African supply chain innovators.

“Having tracked health tech startups for many years, the emergence of a group of leading innovators is exciting to report. Local and global public health communities must increasingly recognise and leverage the innovators in developing reliable and resilient health supply chains,” he added.

Funded by the Gates Foundation, the report underscores the crucial role that private companies play in transforming healthcare systems across Africa, revealing that nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of the leading healthtech innovators have identified Kenya and Uganda as key markets for expansion by 2025.

Pursuing this expansion aligns with recent trends as leading innovators collectively expanded to 18 new African markets in 2023 - with the two countries as the most common targets for this new market entry.

According to Ann Allen, a senior program officer at the Gates Foundation, technology-enabled innovations have the potential to help reverse long-running challenges in African health systems, while creating local jobs and strengthening local health markets.

The report highlights Kenya as the second key hub for healthtech innovation in Africa, with 13 per cent of the leading innovators headquartered here. [