COVID19  was a good demonstration of why the work we are doing is important. For Kenya like most of Africa we typically inject over 90% of all the medical devices that we use are diagnostics, this puts us at a major risk. 

When we realised this was a global challenge, our normal suppliers whether for PPE’s or diagnostics tests and in this case the vaccines, majorly produced for their own population first, what has been known as vaccine nationalism. In a situation like this with no capacity, you are at the mercy of those who have the ability to produce. 

Being able to build capacity for Africa so that Africa is not always behind is important. The last global pandemic we had was HIV, it took us 10 years from when the ARVs had been launched for ARVs to be readily available in africa. Fortunately we now have COVAX which is trying to address that. 

The best thing we can do now is what South Africa is doing so that companies can licence countries with capacity to manufacture vaccines so that they can start producing for populations within the region. Kenya currently does not have that capacity. We can only receive 1M one of the reasons we are not doing sufficient testing and contact tracing is because of the limited capacity.

COVID has been a good eye-opener to the fact that local manufacturing and innovation is important and we need to continue building on that capacity so that the lessons from hiv and the innovation gap can be addressed. 

The ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), a hardware-led social innovation accelerator, seeks applicants to join its 2021 cohort.
ISHOW is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and environmental impact.

Applicants should have an existing prototype and be interested in receiving financing, technical support and access to industry networks to assist in taking their product to market.

Apply now through March 9, 2021 to win a share of $200K in grants, consultations, business development assets, and a design and engineering review led by industry experts.

Visit www.asmeishow.org to begin your application and follow @ASMEishow on Twitter.

COVID-19 has presented an opportunity for the whole world to accelerate innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurship in life-saving health technologies. In Kenya, we have seen entrepreneurs and innovators develop homegrown solutions, including locally assembled ventilators, contact tracing apps and automated testing kits.

However, despite the policies, strategic frameworks and investments for innovation, the path to scale for Kenyan innovators is not always clear. That’s why Villgro and Bobab have teamed up to deliver the Innovators Forum; a virtual event series exploring the challenges and opportunities for biomedical and diagnostic innovation and manufacturing in Kenya.

Over the course of five online events, we will be bringing together diverse groups of experts from business, academia and policy. Together, and inline with Kenya Vision 2030, we will explore where and how innovation and knowledge-based development processes can support national development strategies as a source of sustainable growth and jobs.

In addition to public webinars, we will also be delivering three interactive roundtables. Each will focus on a different area, convening high-level stakeholders and enabling deep-dive exploration of challenges and opportunities. These will range from developing complex manufacturing processes to the role of social impact bonds and other innovative funding mechanisms.

We will be capturing insights and ideas generated throughout these sessions and compiling them in our Guide To Accelerating Biomedical and Diagnostic Innovation and Manufacturing. This will provide a practical toolkit that can be picked up and used by stakeholders from Kenya and across Africa, designed to educate and assist with the development and manufacturing of homegrown health technologies. 

The first event of the series will take place on 30th March 2021 under the theme, Building Resilience Through Investment in Biomedical and Diagnostics Innovation and Manufacturing in Kenya. 

COVID-19 is taking its toll on Africa, reemphasising persistent structural weaknesses that overexpose countries like Kenya to the social, health and economic impacts of the pandemic. These include a high dependency on imports in areas such as drugs, machinery and equipment,weak local production systems, limited digital connectivity and the prevalence of informal micro businesses.

However, as well as highlighting reasons for concern, Kenya’s response to COVID-19 also has the potential to accelerate innovation, improve the response of healthcare systems and ignite a growth recovery, unlocking industrialisation, modernisation and continental integration. 

In this first event of the Innovators Forum, we will be convening a diverse group of experts to share their experiences and insights. Together, we will explore the channels through which trade and industrial policies can help launch a renewed, job-rich and sustainable development agenda in Kenya; one that leverages immense untapped national and regional potential, enables homegrown innovation to thrive and opens up new opportunities for local business to create new and better jobs.

Villgro Africa, an impact investor and early stage business incubator that supports startups innovating for Low and Middle Income Communities, is calling on Innovative Medtech Device Startups based in Africa to apply for funding of $20,000 and incubation.

Eligibility: The innovation must be either

1. Tech-enabled
2. IoMT
3. Level I & II Medical Device/Diagnostic

Successful applicants will also receive business development expertise and access to further investment opportunities. 

We have a preference for scalable and sustainable models led by a multidisciplinary team with a minimum viable product.

To apply visit  https://villgroafrica.org/apply/ and fill in the application form.

We welcome referrals from organizations that have worked with or know a startup that is a good fit.

Villgro Africa partnered with Disrupt Africa, Catalyst Fund, Quona Capital, Otundi Capital, Lateral Capital, 4Di Capital and RTB House to make the African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020 available to all for free.

The report found that startups from more African countries than ever before secured funding in a record-breaking 2020 that saw a combined US$701 million raised across the continent.

A total of 307 startups from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt raised funding in 2020, accounting for 77.3% of the 397 funded ventures. Together, they raised a combined US$625,659,000, accounting for 89.2% of the Pan-African tally.

For the second year running, Kenyan startups raised a record amount of funding in 2020, securing a combined total of US$191,381,000. Accounting for 27.3% of the continent’s total investment. This is the largest amount of funding ever achieved by a single country. It was, however, raised by relatively few ventures – with 59 Kenyan startups responsible for the investment total. Find the full report here.

Villgro Africa is excited to have been featured in the latest edition of Startup Guide, a publishing and media company that produces guidebooks and online content to help entrepreneurs navigate and connect with different startup scenes across the world.

Startup Guide Nairobi offers comprehensive profiles of entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, co-working spaces and key ecosystem players. The book gives the reader a front seat to the vibrant startup ecosystem that is the silicon savanna of Africa.

Entrepreneurs looking to set up shop in the city have at their disposal all the information they need from regulations and key contacts in the startup scene. Founders also have their voice and their segment offers valuable insights and advice for entrepreneurs looking to understand how to hack the Kenyan market.

Get access to the book here

Female led portfolio companies Neopenda and Rescue by Flare emerged as finalists of the TechEmerge Health East Africa Challenge.

They are among 17 innovative health tech startups from 11 countries successfully matched with 11 leading healthcare providers across Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to jointly implement 20 pilot projects and build long-term partnerships.

Selected innovators receive funding and guidance from the TechEmerge team to pilot their tech solutions in the East African market, with the ultimate goal of wider commercial deployment of the technologies.

IFC will provide support during the market-entry and tech transfer process for both innovators and healthcare providers – mitigating financial and operational risks associated with market entry for innovators and reducing adoption risks for local healthcare providers.

Villgro Africa has awarded $20,000 to Damu Sasa System Limited (DSL), which runs an innovative end-to-end blood services information management platform (Damu-Sasa), to enable them to enhance their contributions to mitigating the spread of COVID-19. 

Damu-Sasa works across the entire blood ecosystem by helping hospitals source blood from donors and from each other while also supporting screening, preparation of blood products and inventory and transfusions management.  The Damu-Sasa system also helps mobilize donors, tracks their donations while giving them digital access to their donation history. The DSL team works with hospitals and other multi-sectoral partners to increase voluntary donations from across the population, with the goal of delivering sufficient supply of safe blood while improving tracking and reporting of utilization countrywide. 

During 2020, Damu-Sasa has grown in presence from one hospital in one city to 132 hospitals across the country. The system has facilitated over 9,000 transfusions and has over 72,000 registered donors on their platform. The DSL team looks to significantly grow this number through increasing Damu-Sasa presence in healthcare facilities as well as through their newly launched Damu Sasa android app, currently available on Google Playstore. 

During COVID-19 the DSL team has provided online booking for blood donation appointments, personalized booking links for each hospital, evidence based educational articles, blood screening tracking capacity for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and mobile text reminders of safe practices to blood donors.

“Villgro Africa is thrilled to support the work of the DSL team, they are a young and vibrant company who are committed to solving this real challenge.  Working alongside Innovative Canadians for Change (ICChange), we look forward to being a part of their efforts in managing safe and efficient blood donations in Kenya, and doing so using a sustainable model.”  says Rob Beyer, Cofounder & Executive Chair of Villgro Africa

In addition to the grant, Villgro Africa will offer technical assistance to enable the team to enhance their capacity with respect to COVID-19 blood management related capabilities while also supporting ongoing fundraising efforts. 

According to Dr. Matunda Nyanchama, Chairman of DSL, “At Damu-Sasa, we are really excited with this partnership because it will help us address key concerns occasioned by the pandemic, improve potential blood donor numbers and hence help alleviate, to the degree possible, the perennial blood shortages.”

The Damu Sasa system enhances efficiency and effectiveness of the blood ecosystem, helps minimize waste and enhances blood availability, thereby leading to lives saved and improved health outcomes.