African startups are invited to apply for the Making More Health Business Accelerator, a structured business growth programme targeted at social entrepreneurs with innovative solutions in the health sector.
Since 2011, Ashoka – one of the world’s largest networks of social entrepreneurs – and Boehringer Ingelheim – a family-owned world leading and research-driven pharmaceutical company – have collaborated on Making More Health (MMH).
The initiative brings together actors from the healthcare ecosystem, including social entrepreneurs, corporations, impact investors, government agencies, foundations, and local stakeholders, among others, to engage and collaborate on ways to increase access to healthcare for underserved populations around the world.
The programme offers two engagement phases. Phase 1, called the “Pilot Phase”, runs for 12 months and focuses on supporting entrepreneurs to identify strategic challenges or opportunities related to the growth, sustainability and impact of their social enterprises, and co-create and test relevant solutions.
Phase 2, called the “Scale-up Phase” also runs for 12 months and focuses on supporting participants to scale up successful solutions from the first phase of engagement. In both phases, participating entrepreneurs are provided with access to technical support from Boehringer Ingelheim employees, strategic networks, financial resources, and a platform to collaborate, learn and engage with fellow social entrepreneurs and other ecosystem actors.
The accelerator broadly focuses on supporting social entrepreneurs with innovative solutions aimed at advancing access to healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa. Solutions may be both in the animal or human health field. The specific countries from which it is currently selecting participants are Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Ghana.
Applications close on January 13, and are open here.
