Lagos hosted the third edition of Investing in Innovation Africa’s Access to Markets event on 10 December 2025, bringing together leading African healthtech startups and global partners. Over two days, the platform focused on translating innovation into concrete contracts, pilots, partnerships, and investment. The gathering underscored how structured market access support is becoming as critical as capital for scaling digital health solutions across the continent.
Three High-Impact Agreements Announced
On the opening day, i3 announced three major deals that together target cervical cancer, malaria, and pharmacy-based access to care. The collaborations involve MYDAWA and MSD, Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme and PVAC with Sproxil, and new investments by Boehringer Ingelheim’s Social Engagement Fund. Taken together, they illustrate how African startups and global manufacturers are co-designing models that move beyond pilots toward measurable population-level impact.
MSD and MYDAWA Expand Patient-Centered Cervical Cancer Services
MSD and Kenyan hybrid health platform MYDAWA unveiled a collaboration to enhance MYDAWA’s concierge channel with a focus on cervical cancer prevention and related services. The initiative will expand access to at-home and in-clinic options supported by online booking tools and tailored health counseling, helping patients navigate screening and care more easily. The partnership centers on improving access to information and services, and explicitly does not involve the supply, promotion, or distribution of any vaccines or medicinal products that are not registered.
MSD is contributing business and technical expertise to help MYDAWA design and scale patient-centered models that reduce friction along the care journey. By pairing MYDAWA’s local reach and vertically integrated operations with MSD’s global health experience, the collaboration aims to “meet communities where they are” and create new paths for access. As MSD’s Vice President for International Health Equity and Partnerships, Dr. Priya Agrawal, noted, the goal is to break down structural barriers through solutions that are both sustainable and scalable across African markets.
Sproxil, NMEP and PVAC Deploy AI-Driven Malaria Surveillance
A Memorandum of Understanding was also announced between Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme, the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain under the Federal Ministry of Health, and Sproxil. The agreement leverages Sproxil’s test-to-treat model and AI-powered malaria surveillance to collect real-time data from pharmacies and patent medicine vendors. These data streams will help track product distribution, monitor disease patterns, and improve accountability while supporting Nigeria’s goals of cutting malaria prevalence to below 10 percent and reducing malaria deaths to under 50 per 1,000 live births.
Sproxil’s infrastructure turns routine consumer verification and point-of-care interactions into epidemiological intelligence that can inform policy and supply decisions. By linking frontline providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and national programs, the model seeks to close gaps between availability of quality treatments and their actual use by patients. CEO and Founder Dr. Ashifi Gogo emphasized that the partnership demonstrates how African-led platforms, when adequately supported, can power continent-wide health transformation while ensuring affordable antimalarials reach children and families most at risk.
Boehringer Ingelheim Backs the Future of Pharmacy
Boehringer Ingelheim’s Social Engagement Fund used the A2M forum to highlight recent investments in three companies shaping pharmacy-based care across Africa. The fund has backed Dawa Mkononi, a member of the latest i3 cohort, alongside Kasha and Reach52, all of which focus on expanding access to medicines and primary care through digitally enabled pharmacy channels. These investments complement Boehringer Ingelheim’s broader objective of enabling innovative models that improve health outcomes in underserved communities.
Dr. Ilka Wicke, Head of Sustainability Social, said the decision to invest in the three startups reflects confidence in local innovators who deeply understand on-the-ground realities. By coupling their capabilities with the resources and networks of a global pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim aims to move faster toward its target of improving the lives of 50 million people by 2030. The i3 program provides a structured platform for these collaborations, ensuring that impact-focused capital is paired with tailored advisory and market access support.
i3 Deepens Market Access and Ecosystem Connectivity
Since July, i3 has worked closely with seven “future of pharmacy” innovators, including Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Sproxil, and Zuri Health. The program has facilitated more than 110 customized introductions to customers and investors, which have already generated 15 partnerships with a potential value exceeding $20 million. This pace, averaging more than one advancing partnership per week, positions i3 as a leading growth advisory platform for African healthtech ventures ready to scale.
The 2025 A2M event convened 15 high-potential healthtech startups whose solutions already support more than 66,000 healthcare providers across 12 African countries. Collectively, these companies are on track to reach over 167,000 providers by 2028, offering a powerful channel to improve patient access and strengthen health systems. Alongside them, 41 investors, pharmaceutical manufacturers, donors, development finance institutions, and multilaterals, including Grand Challenges Canada, IFC, the World Bank, Pfizer, Causal Foundry, Proqurable, and i3’s sponsors, explored new ways to accelerate scalable innovation, create jobs, and expand healthcare impact.
Oladunni Lawal, Investing in Innovation Lead, stressed that leading healthtech startups are playing an increasingly central role in reshaping Africa’s healthcare landscape. Through Access to Markets, these innovators are linked with strategic partners across industry, government, and global health, turning meetings into actionable deals and pilots. Lawal noted that the three deals announced this year, alongside more than 100 meetings at the event, demonstrate how a structured matchmaking model can rapidly produce tangible results.
A Growing Coalition for Digitally Enabled African Healthcare
Senior government participation reinforced the strategic importance of the initiative, with keynote remarks from Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain. He was joined by Dr. Leke Ojewale, Senior Technical Adviser to Nigeria’s Minister of Health, who underscored the role of innovation in strengthening the health system. Their presence highlighted how public-sector leadership is aligning with private innovators to unlock the full value chain of healthcare in Africa.
Launched in 2022, the i3 program is a pan-African effort to help healthtech startups commercialize and scale by connecting them to donors, governments, and private-sector partners. The initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation and sponsored by MSD, Cencora, Endless Health, HELP Logistics, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim, with implementation and advisory support from organizations such as Salient Advisory and SCIDaR. Together, these actors combine market-shaping expertise, supply chain insight, and health systems experience to translate digital innovation into durable access gains.
The latest Access to Markets event shows how i3 is moving African healthtech beyond isolated pilots and toward system-level impact anchored in real commercial relationships. By pairing startups such as MYDAWA, Sproxil, Dawa Mkononi, Kasha, and Reach52 with global manufacturers, investors, and public agencies, the program is building a pipeline of deals that can reshape prevention, diagnosis, and treatment pathways. As these collaborations mature, they will test a model in which locally led, digitally enabled innovation, supported by global and regional partners, becomes a core driver of a more inclusive and resilient African healthcare system.