Locally-Driven African Innovation is Bridging Gaps to Accessible Healthcare for Millions

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it shook the world and tested governments’ reactions to health crises. But it also struck vulnerable, underserved communities in Africa in an entirely different way. Across the continent, from bustling cities to smaller communities, the pandemic exposed the harsh realities of ineffective healthcare systems and supply chains. It resulted in uncertainties around access to critical health products, ranging from protective personal equipment to COVID-19 vaccines. 

Today, Africa’s healthcare systems stand at a pivotal crossroad. Historic challenges of investor hesitation and operational hurdles collided with the stark realities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and were compounded by resulting debt crises. And supply chain failures highlighted the gaps in health product distribution and access. 

Africa’s population is expected to grow by over 30 percent within the next 10 years, reaching 1.7 billion people by 2030, further highlighting the growing and urgent need for innovative solutions to boost healthcare access. With 50 percent of Africans living more than two hours away from the nearest health facility, the need for reliable, local, tech-enabled distribution systems to get healthcare products into the hands of patients has never been more important.

The rise of African healthtech innovators 

As nations across Africa address the most efficient ways to deploy their limited health financing, local healthtech innovators present a unique opportunity to offer effective solutions to local challenges. 

While tech giants dominate headlines, an emerging crop of leading innovators are quietly transforming Africa’s health supply chains by enabling greater, faster and safer access to health products. New, data-driven tech platforms to manage product stocks in clinics and pharmacies are leading the charge, promising to change how health products are stocked in outlets down to the last mile.

Kasha, a leading health access platform in East Africa, exemplifies this transformation. Kasha streamlines the purchase of medicines for consumers and facilitates remote restocking for pharmacies, clinics and hospitals to minimize stockouts. Launched in Rwanda, Kasha has expanded across East and South Africa, with plans to reach West and Central Africa by the end of 2024.

Beyond providing a reliable platform, Kasha empowers individuals with access to a wide range of health products and information, enabling informed choices. By serving underserved providers and diverting pharmacies from risky open drug markets, Kasha is revolutionizing local health supply chains and healthcare access.

The potential impact? Massive. Nearly 50,000 pharmacies, clinics and hospitals are now able to minimize the price and quality impacts of supply chain fragmentation. Instead, they source quality medicines straight from distributors and manufacturers thanks to tech-enabled systems for managing stocks. Conservatively, assuming these outlets serve only three patients daily, that's over 250,000 patients getting better access to health products and care. This isn't just innovation — it's a transformation of healthcare systems.

It doesn’t end there. Innovators offering track-and-trace technologies to follow the movement of health products and reduce the likelihood of counterfeits entering the supply chain are also reducing the threat of substandard and falsified health products. Innovators in medical drone delivery are advancing access for tens of thousands of residents in hard-to-reach communities who were historically cut off from health supply chains. And new analytics firms are applying data-driven approaches to supply chain planning and demand forecasting. 

Unraveling the red tape 

While they hold significant promise to improve access, healthtech innovators are caught in a web of local market challenges. Take drug distribution company, Remedial Health, which is serving 4,000 pharmacies, clinics and hospitals in Nigeria to improve access to genuine and affordable medicines. Having raised $12 million to offer digitally enabled procurement, Remedial Health is not just managing inventory but going further to offer financing solutions to local pharmacies. This minimizes the impact of cash flow constraints on product availability in pharmacies across the country. 

In Egypt, Yodawy, which raised $16 million in a Series B funding, stretched beyond an online pharmacy. It evolved into a pharmacy benefits manager to ease access to health products via health insurance systems. Since its inception in 2018, it has processed 4 million prescriptions and partnered with 3,000 pharmacies and 15 insurance companies. In a country where health insurance coverage is historically low, driving greater adoption is crucial.

As they innovate, startups also face an uphill task of navigating long, bureaucratic sales cycles and a maze of international regulations to qualify for tenders with global donors and organizations. Unfortunately, global organizations focused on Africa’s supply chains are built to work with large, multinational companies and international organizations and do not procure tech-driven solutions — especially those developed by startups built in Africa.

It is time to adopt locally-developed, cost-effective, tech-driven solutions that can accelerate access. This isn’t just about sleeker systems, it’s about fostering a self-sustaining ecosystem of innovation that can respond nimbly to Africa’s unique needs. Global organizations working to strengthen Africa’s supply chains must intentionally shift from Western solutions, large multinationals, and international organizations to testing and procuring solutions from local health supply chain innovators. 

It is time to leverage African solutions for African challenges.