Founders Factory Africa (FFA) has opened applications for an acceleration and incubation program that is targeted at African health-tech startups.
The program is in partnership with South African healthcare company Netcare and aims to select 5 startups a year for the next 7 years and incubate 2.
The partnership includes an investment (of an undisclosed amount) by Netcare in Founder’s Factory Africa which is located in Johannesburg and was established in 2018 as an extension of Founders Factory in London—an accelerator that has graduated 122 startups.
Eligibility
*Startups must have a healthcare focus
*Must be post-revenue
*Must have a Pan-African scope
Prizes
Accelerated startups will receive
*A £30,000 cash investment (≈$38,000) and £220,000 in support services from Founders Factory Africa.
*Incubator health-tech ventures will receive £60K cash and £100K toward support.
This is the first big foray into tech funding for Netcare, which operates South Africa’s largest private hospital network, according to CEO, Dr Richard Friedland. The organization has 11,000 hospital beds, across 54 hospitals, and 18 primary care centres, he told said
Netcare’s interest in partnering with Founders Factory Africa to support startups comes down to multiplying healthcare solutions across the continent and shaking up the healthcare industry, according to Friedland.
“The way we deliver healthcare in South Africa, Africa, and perhaps internationally…is in many cases broken,” he said, adding there’s a crisis of affordability and access to healthcare in Africa.
“I believe healthcare is ripe for disruption and innovation and that couldn’t be truer than it is here in South Africa and the rest of the continent,” Friedland said.
The application process is now open for FFA’s new Africa health-tech program and health tech startups aiming to apply have until September 6.
Kindly note Founders Factory Africa and Netcare will share a 5 to 10 per cent equity stake in each startup accepted into the program.
