This year’s HealthTech Hub Africa (HTHA) Innovation Challenge marked a transformative leap in Africa’s digital health journey. Powered by $400,000 in catalytic funding from the Novartis Foundation and the Global Fund, the 2024 edition was more than just a competition—it was a bold experiment in solving real public health challenges.
Seven standout companies from across the continent—Helium Health (Nigeria), Emergency Response Africa (Nigeria), eFiche (Rwanda), Afya Intelligence (Tanzania), MedTrack (Ghana), Aurora Health Systems (Kenya), and HealthX Africa (Kenya)—were selected for their cutting-edge innovations in access, quality, and client-centered healthcare. Their mission: pilot these technologies in real public health settings and prove their worth. And they did not disappoint.
Through targeted support and hands-on implementation, the winners collectively reached over 905,000 patients, trained 2,865 healthcare providers, and strengthened 1,811 public health facilities. Even more impressive, they secured $1.9 million in follow-on funding, demonstrating how aligned innovations can attract sustained investment.
Their solutions addressed everything from electronic health records and remote diagnostics to predictive analytics and emergency response systems. In total, 96.57% of their project milestones were met a resounding success for digital health in Africa.
Achievements & Lessons Learned
- New Partnerships: 26 public and 30 private sector partnerships were formed, reflecting the ecosystem’s readiness to collaborate.
- Policy Reflection: Although none of the startups were involved in developing the HealthTech Policy Blueprint, their experiences strongly validated its recommendations.
- Challenges Persist: Despite success, companies cited bureaucratic bottlenecks, poor data interoperability, and limited scalability support as major hurdles.
From these insights, powerful recommendations emerged: the need for HealthTech Liaison Offices in Ministries of Health, better data governance, outcome-tracking dashboards, and regulatory reforms to simplify market access.
As we look to the future, the 2024 Innovation Challenge sets the tone for what’s possible when innovation meets investment and ecosystem collaboration. Startups are no longer working in isolation they are scaling within public health systems and influencing national health strategies.
Expect to see more structured engagement between governments, innovators, and funders, as well as an increased focus on long-term sustainability and real-world evidence. HTHA continues to champion this vision, making Africa not just a user of healthtech innovation—but a global leader in its creation.
