Four new partnerships between African health technology companies and global, regional and private-sector organisations are expected to improve access to healthcare, medicines and digital health services across the continent.
The agreements were announced at the fourth annual Access to Markets (A2M) event of Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) in Kigali. The deals cover chronic disease care, pharmacy financing, pharmaceutical supply chains and regulation.
Kenya-based digital pharmacy MYDAWA has partnered with Endless Health to develop a digital-first model for hypertension and diabetes care through private pharmacies in East Africa.
The partners will co-design, test and document a model for providing chronic disease services to low- and middle-income patients. The initiative is being developed with Ariadne Labs and will build evidence on whether private pharmacies can provide quality care for people living with hypertension and diabetes.
“Chronic disease care in East Africa is being delivered through private pharmacies whether the system plans for it or not,” said Rubayat Khan, Director of Health Programs at Endless.
“What is missing is evidence about whether that channel can deliver quality, not just convenience,” Khan said.
MYDAWA Group COO Priscilla Muhiu said private pharmacies are already an important first point of care for patients with chronic diseases.
“This partnership gives us an opportunity to make access more affordable and strengthen care delivery for patients in their own communities,” Muhiu said.
MYDAWA is also working with Turn.io, a WhatsApp-based patient engagement platform, to improve communication between patients and healthcare providers.
Financing and supply chains
The other agreements focus on improving the ability of pharmacies and health facilities to access finance and medicines.
Tanzanian healthtech company Dawa Mkononi has signed a working-capital agreement with NMB Bank. The arrangement will provide interest-free credit to pharmacies, drug shops and health facilities across Tanzania.
The financing will use Dawa Mkononi’s proprietary credit-scoring engine. The company says it has already facilitated more than $6 million in financing for frontline health facilities, with a 0.3% non-performing rate.
Pharmaceutical supply-chain company Meditect has also secured debt financing from Boehringer Ingelheim. The funding will support the company’s expansion into new and existing markets across Sub-Saharan Africa.
It will also help Meditect digitise pharmaceutical supply chains and improve access to affordable and authentic medicines.
Boehringer Ingelheim Associate Director Aditya Peri said stronger pharmaceutical supply chains could help address the challenge of counterfeit and substandard medicines in the region.
The fourth agreement involves Nigerian healthtech company Sproxil and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN).
The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Collaboration to support pharmaceutical regulation through digital and artificial intelligence systems. The collaboration will include the National Electronic Pharmacy Platform, oversight of online pharmaceutical sales and the digitisation of PCN field audit processes.
It will also support the delivery of mandatory continuing professional development for pharmacists. PCN will retain full regulatory authority, while Sproxil will provide the technology and data infrastructure.
Growing reach across Africa
The four agreements add to i3’s growing efforts to connect African healthtech companies with commercial and institutional partners.
According to i3, its Access to Markets programme has facilitated more than 760 bespoke introductions. These have resulted in 165 partnerships, pilots and memorandums of understanding valued at more than $19 million.
As of April 2026, i3 innovators had served more than 6.85 million patients. They had also tracked, protected or distributed more than 209 million health products across Africa.
This year’s event brought together 20 African health innovators and 57 global and regional industry players. Participants included Gavi, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, BillionScale Health, AMREF and several government institutions.
The participating innovators included Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Sproxil and Zuri Health.
Together, the companies are expanding patient access and pharmaceutical safety through 3,500 health facilities across 19 African countries.
“African innovators are reshaping healthcare delivery across the region, with solutions designed to address local gaps and reach the communities and patients who need them most,” said Oladunni Lawal, Investing in Innovation Lead.
“Through Access to Markets, we are bringing regional and global partners closer to these businesses, opening commercial opportunities that enable their innovations to deliver greater health impact.”
Access to Markets is i3’s flagship initiative for connecting African healthtech companies with regional and global health organisations and industry players. Its focus is on commercial partnerships, market access and scaling locally developed healthcare solutions.
i3 is supported by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Health, HELP Logistics, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim. The programme is implemented by Salient Advisory and the Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR).
