The second cohort is launched after the first of 30 startups from 10 African countries.  

Pan-African healthtech accelerator HealthTech Hub Africa recently announced the launch of the second edition of the Africa HealthTech Challenge, a competition that awards and mentors Africa's most promising startups tackling local health challenges. 

For this second edition, applications are open till October 22. The incubator will select 40 start-ups: 30 growth start-ups and 10 scale-ups. To be eligible for the challenge, applicants must focus on one or more of the following four thematic areas: cardiovascular health, breast cancer, virtual health and care, and optimizing data-driven decision-making.

They must also have teams of two or more full-time employees and be registered in an African country. “Teams consisting of both genders will be prioritized,” we learn. Growth startups must also ensure that they are not part of another accelerator program in the same year.

The 30 growth start-ups selected will benefit from a 10-month acceleration program that includes mentorship from two volunteer mentors for every start-up, coaching, and access to an interactive coaching platform, and invitations to networking events and hybrid events across Africa and beyond.

Apart from the acceleration program, scale-ups will also receive free access to world-class legal services, accounting, marketing, talent acquisition, accelerated fundraising, training, and media exposure.

The top three HealthTech start-ups will respectively receive US$50,000, 30,000, and 20,000 in grants from the Novartis Foundation.

Samira Njoya