A healthcare-focused panel discussion at this year’s Sapics Conference in Cape Town spotlighted Africa’s emergence as a creator of health supply chain innovations with global potential.
Source: Supplied
The session brought together African entrepreneurs who are working to improve access to medicine, patient safety, and supply chain systems. It was moderated by Stella Kivila, Director of Healthtech Strategy & Impact at Salient Advisory, a firm tracking over 1,000 healthtech start-ups across Africa.
“We are seeing a new generation of African entrepreneurs tackling one of the continent’s most pressing problems: fragmented and inefficient medicine supply chains,” said Kivila.
The cost of fragmentation
Public healthcare distribution systems across Africa are often overburdened, with many consumers relying on fragmented private supply chains. According to Kivila, this can add as much as 60% to the final price of medicines. "Patients are left with little guarantee of quality or availability, and there is a significant risk of counterfeit and substandard products entering the system," she said.
Two start-ups – Dawa Mkononi from Tanzania and Meditect from Côte d’Ivoire – shared how they are using technology, data and new models to improve healthcare delivery.
Dawa Mkononi: "Medicine in the palm of your hand"
Dr Joseph Paul, a medical doctor and software engineer, founded Dawa Mkononi after a pivotal experience in a rural Tanzanian village. "While assisting a mother during childbirth, the essential drug needed to accelerate labour was unavailable. Six hours later, the family returned with a medicine that sadly proved ineffective. It was likely a counterfeit."
Paul developed a digital platform and distribution system to deliver safe, verified medicines to pharmacies, clinics and hospitals, supported by inventory management and demand forecasting. In urban areas, delivery takes a few hours. The platform also offers credit financing.
"Our mission is to make medicine accessible, affordable and safe, through data-driven supply chains," Paul said. The company has reached over 1,000 pharmacies, served more than 500,000 patients, and facilitated over $1m in credit. It is currently growing fourfold annually.
Meditect: Restoring trust in medicines
For Dr Arnaud Pourredon, founder of Meditect, the turning point also came from a moment in clinical care. “I couldn’t buy malaria treatment for a three-year-old child. That’s when I knew we had to fix the system,” he said.
Meditect provides digital tools that support drug traceability, supply chain visibility and pharmacy management, with a focus on Francophone Africa. "By improving access to quality medicine and enhancing transparency, we can increase life expectancy in Africa by 10 years," Pourredon said.
The platform supports thousands of healthcare professionals and aims to help leapfrog infrastructure gaps using technology.
i3: A new model for supporting innovators
Both Dawa Mkononi and Meditect are part of the Investing in Innovation (i3) programme, launched in 2022 to connect African health supply chain innovators with donors, governments and the private sector. The initiative has provided $3m in grant funding to 60 start-ups in 18 countries.
Rather than acting as a traditional accelerator, i3 offers tailored support and market access, backed by partners including the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics, and Sanofi’s Global Health Unit.
"Africa doesn’t lack ingenuity. It lacks systems to support and scale it," said Kivila. "That’s what we’re fixing with i3."
Locally led systems for Africa and beyond
The panel was part of the 47th annual Sapics Conference, attended by more than 700 supply chain professionals from across Africa and the world.
As Kivila concluded: "Africa’s healthcare future does not have to be imported. It is being built here – by Africans, for Africans, and increasingly, for the world."
