By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is leading in terms of fostering healthtech innovation and integrating these advancements into public health systems, according to a new report.
The report titled Leading Innovations Enabling Health Product Access in Africa said 29 per cent of the top healthtech innovators are based in Nigeria, with governments in the country paving the way for healthtech collaboration to optimize supply chains.
Led by Nigeria, West Africa accounted for 65 per cent of partnerships between innovators and governments.
The report launched by healthcare consulting firm, Salient Advisory, focused on 24 leading Africa-focused supply chain innovators which appear to be on the cusp of more substantive impact.
Funded by the Gates Foundation, the report noted that amid difficult macroeconomic realities and dwindling investment in African technology ecosystems, a select number of African health innovators are emerging as leaders.
These innovators have established extensive partnerships with over 100 manufacturers, 75 public health institutions, and nearly 50,000 providers across 33 countries and delivering health products to millions of consumers directly.
The 24 leading innovators featured are Chefaa, DrugStoc, Field Inc, Figorr, Grinta, HealthPlus, Kasha, LifeBank, Maisha Meds, Meditect, mPedigree, and MYDAWA.
Others are Pendulum, PharmaSecure, Remedial Health, RxAll, Sobrus, Sproxil, Talamus Health, VIA Global Health, Viebeg, Wingcopter, Yodawy, and Zipline.
Four leading online pharmacies are reaching nearly 10 million customers and generating median annual revenues of nearly $9 million, the report found.
Other categories featured are innovations in Product Protection and Visibility, Medical Drone Delivery, and Data Analytics.
Kasha raised Series B funding last year and has since gone on to build its health technology access platform and report annual revenues of more than $50 million in 2023 – the highest ever recorded by Salient’s research to date.
The report also noted that innovators that offer digitally-enabled Order and Inventory Management services to hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and drug shops appear dominant amongst the leading companies, making up 13 of the 24 featured innovations, with operations in 30 countries.
The study explained that while leading innovators now appear positioned to deliver more substantive impact, they require targeted engagement from governments, donors, industry and global health institutions to transform access for unserved populations and improve the cost-effectiveness of care.
Speaking on the launch of the report, Mr Yomi Kazeem, Engagement Manager at Salient Advisory, explained, ‘’The findings underscore the remarkable resilience and growing impact of African supply chain innovators. Having tracked healthtech startups for many years, the emergence of a group of leading innovators is exciting to report.
“Local and global public health communities must increasingly recognize and leverage the innovators in developing reliable and resilient health supply chains.”
For Ms Ann Allen, 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 confirms innovators are increasingly positioned to deliver on this promise. However, there is more to be done as leveraging these innovations to truly transform cost-effective access for millions of unserved Africans will require concerted efforts from governments, industry and global health agencies alike.”
Aduragbemi Omiyale