• i3 announced partnerships targeting cervical cancer (MSD & MYDAWA), malaria (NMEP, PVAC & Sproxil), and pharmacy access (Boehringer Ingelheim with Dawa Mkononi, Kasha, Reach52).

• Collaborations use AI, hybrid care, and real-time pharmacy data to expand healthcare access.

• With Africa’s digital health market set to hit $17B by 2030, i3 has backed 60+ startups and enabled $20M+ in deals.

Investing in Innovation (i3), a pan-African initiative aiming to support African healthtech start-ups to commercialize and scale their offerings, has announced three major healthtech deals at its third Access to Markets (A2M) event, it announced on December 10. The move links African startups with global partners to boost commercialization in cervical cancer prevention, pharmacy access, and malaria control.

MSD (Merck & Co., Inc.) and MYDAWA, a hybrid digital and physical healthcare platform, launched a collaboration to enhance concierge services for cervical cancer elimination, offering at-home and in-clinic options with online booking and counseling. MSD provides business and technical expertise to develop patient-centered models that reduce healthcare barriers across Africa.

Nigeria's National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) signed an MOU with Sproxil, a healthtech solution, using its AI-powered test-to-treat model for real-time pharmacy data on diagnostics and treatments. This supports Nigeria's goals of cutting malaria prevalence below 10% and deaths under 50 per 1,000 live births.

“We’re excited to support MYDAWA in improving access to healthcare, powered by purpose and technology,” said Dr. Priya Agrawal of MSD. Sproxil CEO Dr. Ashifi Gogo added that African-led AI solutions can drive health transformation when backed properly.

Biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim’s Social Engagement Fund invested in Dawa Mkononi - a B2B pharmaceutical supply chain platform, Kasha, and Reach52 to advance pharmacy innovation, aligning with its target to improve 50 million lives by 2030 through local-global collaborations.

These deals ride a surge in Africa’s digital health market, valued at roughly USD 3.8 billion in 2023 and projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23.4% from 2024 to 2030, fueled by the development of digital health technologies to diagnose, monitor, and treat health conditions remotely, according to Grandview Research.

The two-day A2M gathered 15 startups powering over 66,000 healthcare providers in 12 countries, aiming for 167,000 by 2028, alongside 41 investors, pharma firms, donors, and agencies like IFC and World Bank.

Hikmatu Bilali