Funders, Innovators Partner To Transform African Healthcare

A consortium of funders and innovators are joining forces to launch the African Healthcare Funders Forum to drive the transformation of the African healthcare sector. The forum is a first-of-its-kind year-long gathering of Africa’s leading funders and social entrepreneurs.

The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), Ashoka, and Social Innovation Circle, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim as part of their ‘Making More Health,’ formed the African Healthcare Funders Forum.

The forum is dedicated to bridging the current healthcare funding gap, advancing innovative financing models, and providing funders as well as social entrepreneurs with the tools and networks needed to catalyse sustainable growth at the speed and scale required to achieve maximum impact on the continent.

CEO, African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), Dr Frank Aswani, said Africa’s health sector, which has been traditionally viewed as a sector for the public good, represents a massive investment opportunity, estimated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to be worth $66 billion annually. Helping more funders and founders to connect, collaborate and scale innovative healthcare solutions is critical to the growth of the sector, Aswani said, adding that, “the Forum will provide a collaborative space to meet, discuss and learn from peers on how to best mobilise and deploy capital into African healthcare ventures and overcome funding challenges.”

Project lead, Boehringer Ingelheim Social Engagement, Christian Bausch said, institutional capital and the expertise that typically comes with it are critical to achieving growth in this sector, adding that, this will require the establishment of new relationships between private and development sector players, the development of new impact delivery models, and the wide adoption of innovative financing principles like Impact Investing.

“To partner for impact is a key element of our strategy, and it is even the theme of this year’s Making More Health (MMH) Convention on October, 2022. Both MMH and Boehringer

Ingelheim Social Engagement, our impact investment vehicle, are built on the notion that we can achieve much more together. Thus, we are delighted to sponsor this Forum, participate, and collaborate on building up the Impact Investing Ecosystem in SSA”, Bausch, added.