African Health-Tech Startups Secure Four New Commercial Partnerships Through i3

New agreements involving Dawa Mkononi, MYDAWA, Meditect and Sproxil target pharmacy financing, chronic disease management, access to medicines and digital pharmacy regulation across Africa.

Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative supporting the growth of health-technology startups, has announced four new partnerships linking African innovators with financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies and regulatory bodies.

The agreements were unveiled at i3's fourth annual Access to Markets (A2M) event, a two-day gathering designed to connect early- and growth-stage African health-tech businesses with commercial partners and help them bring their products and services to market.

The partnerships will support pharmacy financing, chronic disease management, pharmaceutical distribution and digital regulation, addressing several challenges affecting healthcare delivery across the continent.

Tanzania Partnership Targets Pharmacy Financing

In Tanzania, Dawa Mkononi and NMB Bank have signed a working capital agreement to extend interest-free credit to pharmacies, drug shops and healthcare facilities. The arrangement is intended to help healthcare providers maintain stock and access the medicines and supplies they need to serve patients.

MYDAWA Expands Digital Chronic Disease Care

Meanwhile, MYDAWA and Endless Health will jointly develop and test a digital-first model for managing hypertension and diabetes among low- and middle-income patients. The partnership will focus on making chronic disease care more accessible through digital health services.

Meditect Secures Financing for Pharmaceutical Distribution

In another agreement, Meditect has secured debt financing from Boehringer Ingelheim to support its efforts to expand access to affordable, safe and authentic medicines across Sub-Saharan Africa. The funding will support the company's pharmaceutical supply-chain operations.

Sproxil Partners with Nigerian Pharmacy Regulator

The fourth partnership brings together Sproxil and Nigeria's Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) through a Memorandum of Collaboration. The organisations will work on strengthening pharmacy regulation using digital technologies and artificial intelligence systems.

The agreements add to i3's growing portfolio of commercial partnerships between African health-tech companies and established industry players.

According to the initiative, it has facilitated more than 760 tailored introductions, resulting in 165 partnerships, pilot projects and memorandums of understanding valued at more than US$19 million.

By April 2026, companies supported by i3 had served more than 6.85 million patients and tracked, protected and distributed over 209 million health products.

The latest agreements involve four different parts of healthcare delivery, from helping Tanzanian pharmacies finance medicine purchases to introducing digital systems for chronic disease management and pharmaceutical regulation in Nigeria.