• The pan-African i3 programme has selected 7 growth-stage startups—Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, myDawa, RxAll, and Sproxil—to receive up to $225,000 each in grants, along with market access and strategic partnership support.
• Funded by the Gates Foundation and supported by MSD, Cencora, Sanofi, and others, the initiative aims to scale pharmacy-focused innovations across 19 African countries, covering areas such as AI-powered prescription refills, cloud-based systems, and last-mile delivery.
• The programme seeks to enhance healthcare access, create jobs, and strengthen health systems, building on previous success of $3M in grants to 60 startups and over $11 million in secured partnerships across Africa.

Press release:

Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative to support African healthtech startups to commercialise and scale their offerings, has announced its 3rd cohort of 7 growth-stage companies working to transform pharmacy services on the continent. Sponsored by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics (a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation), Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, the three-year programme will empower innovators to improve patient access to healthcare across Africa and scale their impact. 

In many African countries, pharmacies serve on the front of healthcare delivery, providing as much as 70% of initial healthcare visits. For this cohort, i3 has prioritised growth-stage startups with pharmacy-focused innovations, recognising their vital role in expanding sustainable healthcare access and bridging critical delivery gaps while creating jobs to spur economic growth and prosperity.

The selected startups offer powerful, tech-enabled solutions that strengthen pharmacy services across Africa, ranging from inventory management, product protection, last-mile delivery, AI-powered prescription refills, embedded financing, and cloud-based pharmacy systems. These companies are reimagining how medicines and health services reach patients, making essential care more accessible, affordable, and safer.

The selected startups are:

1. Chefaa
2. Dawa Mkononi
3. Meditect
4. mPharma
5. myDawa
6. RxAll
7. Sproxil

Together, they demonstrate how data-driven innovation reinforces the resilience of Africa’s health systems while driving economic growth. Operating in 19 countries across the continent, they show the power of locally grounded, scalable solutions to improve patient outcomes, create jobs, and enable more efficient, data-driven healthcare delivery at scale.

Each innovator will receive up to $225,000 in risk-tolerant funding, tailored customer introductions, bespoke deal facilitation, and professional communications and advocacy support. i3 aims to facilitate ~150 strategic partnerships and influence deals valued at $30 million between innovators and major healthcare purchasers. In addition, the cohort will participate in i3’s flagship Access to Markets event in December 2025, designed to spark high-impact partnerships between innovators and large healthcare companies, governments, donors, and multilateral agencies.

Boniface Njenga, Deputy Director, Health Delivery and Systems, Africa at the Gates Foundation, commented: “As the global health landscape continues to rapidly shift, we remain committed to supporting innovative solutions and initiatives that strengthen local health systems across Africa. The i3 programme emphasises the transformative potential of technology-driven innovations on the continent when empowered with the right resources, and we have already seen impressive results from the cohorts.”

Dr. Priya Agrawal, Vice President, International Health Equity and Partnerships, at MSD, noted: “Now more than ever, investing in local healthcare businesses is essential for securing effective and sustainable medicine and vaccine distribution across Africa. MSD is committed to partnering with i3 to support entrepreneurs that are dedicated to expanding equitable healthcare access. By engaging the local private sector and meeting patients where they are, we can enhance access and strengthen health systems through fostering innovation in pharmacy services.”

Dr. Ashifi Gogo, CEO and Founder at Sproxil, remarked, “It is an honour to be selected as part of the i3 cohort focused on growth-stage companies. The support of leading global life sciences and logistics companies, alongside forward-thinking foundations, is encouraging as we scale our impact. The i3 programme continues to differentiate itself through the transformative power of local innovation, and I am eager to see the significant impact this cohort will undoubtedly make."

In the past two years, i3 has provided $3 million in direct grant funding to 60 start-ups across 16 African countries. The programme has also established a diverse cohort of innovators, with 43% being women-led and 20% Francophone-led. Finally, successes have recorded 450 facilitated strategic connections, including 122 contracts and pilots, resulting in >$11 million in contracted partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created—half of which were held by women.

i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and Solina Center for International Development and Research (SCIDaR). Startups were selected by an expert committee with the support of CcHUB and Villgro Africa and an independent expert advisory committee.