Tech-enabled startups in Health sector to be financed
By Elias Hakizimana.
At least thirty (30) startups could get financial boost from investors and the support of Norrsken Foundation.
These startups were announced during a Health Tech Investor Summit taking place in Kigali from December 12th-15th, 2022, bringing together local and international investors (Big investors, venture capital firms from Africa and other continents), private sector organizations, entrepreneurs and government decision makers.
The event was organized by Norvatis Foundation in partnership with Norrsken Foundation Rwanda.
The top three winners which are part of cohort of startups 2023 were granted with $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 respectively as project support from Norvatis Foundation and its two new Anchor partners.
Dr. Ann Aerts, Head of Norvatis Foundation said that the initiative is an opportunity to the local innovators and startups who have been in Health Tech Africa to connect with investors, showcase how they have come stronger, how they made their business models stronger and how they made their solutions impactful to attract much more funding than they expected.
“We bring the startups together, with interested investors in the space of Health Tech, and we bring out the government together. So, we have representatives of the government of Rwanda and Senegal as well who are our partners to make sure that in centers of innovations and have them fast track the approvals for ruling out solutions in the countries,” said Dr. Ann Aerts.
Health Tech Investor Summit is the first side-event of the ongoing 2nd International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA).
“It is super important because public health is what we all care about in the World and public health in Africa is definitely a very important topic. So, the Health Tech part in public health has to equally look at how we change the way we deliver health services around the World, and this is why this Health Tech has to be integrated in the public health and to have enough attention as a standalone to attract investors and funders from many different sectors, because there is too much more fundings from tech solutions in finance than in healthcare, and we need to change that,” Dr. Ann Aerts added.
Contestants speak out
Lifesten Health , a Rwandan startup is the overall winner among all the contestants that were competing for Health Tech prize at the Investor summit on Tuesday evening.
The startup secured $250,000 to expand the project on fighting non-communicable diseases especially cardiovascular diseases.
Peace Ndoli Iraguha, a young lady from Rwanda who is among the young innovators from Lifesten Healt at Norrsken Foundation Rwanda welcomed the cash prize.
Over 40 startups contested and are set to be connected to various investors and get support from different partners.i
The overall winner’s innovation , developed by a team by young innovators under Health Tech Africa, is a mobile App that educates people on the habits to help prevent Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
“Health Tech Investor Summit helps us to showcase what we do in different Health Businesses; we also expect to have investors in this sector as well as supports from various experts from all over the World, ” Iraguha said.
The overall winner was followed by an Ethiopian startup ” YeneHealth FemTech PLC- a virtual health and care technology that got $50,000 prize.
The others who were awarded include GIC Space startup from Cameroon which fights Breast cancer.
It secured $30,000 prize.
There is also Dochtus startup from Algeria that provides virtual health and care technology which got $20,000 prize.
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