Villgro supported an initiative that aims to accelerate the growth of African healthcare companies to strengthen the continent’s pandemic resilience, in line with African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspirations.
The Villgro team conducted diligence on more than 10 of the initial companies that had applied to be part of the program. The companies were taken through a rigorous four-part detailed diligence process. The team assessed the market opportunity for the startups, their business models and growth strategies, the past and projected financial performances, scale of their impact and the capability of the management teams. Fourteen African healthcare ventures were selected to be part of the accelerator. Eight African healthcare startups received acceleration support from Villgro Africa over the course of the acceleration.
The selected companies received customised technical support in various priority areas such as refining their business models, developing go-to-market partnerships, reviewing growth strategies and receiving investor readiness support among others. Over 2,000 hours were spent assessing applicants and providing support to the companies over the eight-month period. Weekly presentation meetings were held with the client on the progress and support being provided. A series of webinars were also organised by Villgro Africa to train the startups on types of capital, deal structuring and investment readiness.
We produced a detailed report to the client laying out the support that was offered and the recommendations to each company. In the report, we provide various recommendations that were identified in the scouting, selection and support stages to strengthen key stages of Villgro Africa’s participation. These were instrumental in aiding the client in decision making for the next phase of the acceleration.