Healthcare-focused incubator and investor Villgro Africa is actively seeking female founders with innovative health startups across Africa, aiming to offer venture support to facilitate their growth.
Originally established in India as Villgro Innovations Foundation, the organization made its entry into Africa in 2017 through the initiation of Villgro Kenya. This early-stage business incubator and impact investor provides startups in the healthcare and life sciences sectors of East Africa with mentoring, funding, and networking opportunities.
In 2020, it rebranded to Villgro Africa and extended its reach across the continent. To date, it has supported a plethora of enterprises with seed funding exceeding US$1 million.
African female entrepreneurs with health solutions poised for broad societal impact are encouraged to join an information session on how Villgro can assist in nurturing their ideas and refining their skills for the startup ecosystem.
This call is a stride towards enhancing female founder participation across Africa.
Villgro stated
The call is open to innovations that promise significant advancements in healthcare equity and access, encompassing all facets crucial to Africa’s health challenges. Technologies paving the way for advancements in disease prevention, diagnosis, management, and treatment are welcomed.
Selected ventures will gain from an array of support, including access to networks, mentorship, technical advice, sponsorship, and funding opportunities.
Villgro Africa has acknowledged the gender disparity in the healthcare innovation field and its adverse effects on equitable healthcare. Female founders often face unique challenges, ranging from a scarcity of startup support programs tailored to their natural ways of flourishing through connection and collaboration to biases in funding pitch evaluations across the funding spectrum.
In an effort to counteract these challenges, Villgro Africa is committed to developing opportunities and frameworks that empower women innovators to excel in launching and growing their startups.
“This call is a stride towards enhancing female founder participation across Africa. By facilitating the application process and disseminating information, we aim to empower female founders to seize opportunities in the healthcare innovation realm,” Villgro stated. This initiative underscores Villgro’s dedication to nurturing female-founded startups, offering tailored support that acknowledges their critical role in driving impactful healthcare solutions.
