Founders Factory Accelerator

“I believe healthcare is ripe for disruption and innovation. There are so many issues in terms of healthcare delivery in Africa that can benefit from technological solutions.”

– Netcare CEO Richard Friedland told TechCrunch.

ABOUT THE ACCELERATOR

The African healthcare sector is gaining more startup attention. In different African countries, healthTech innovators are using technology to address different problems affecting healthcare systems. The FFA accelerator is one way to address these issues.

Founders Factory Africa (FFA) has partnered with Netcare to run an acceleration and incubation program for healthcare startups. Both firms will provide funding and support to more than 35 healthcare startups across Africa.

Started in October 2018, Founders Factory Africa is the Africa arm of the UK’s Founders Factory. FFA wants to design, build and scale over 100 African startups over the next five years. Recently, the tech hub announced its first set of investments in Africa in May 2019. In partnership with South Africa’s Standard Bank, FFA selected five startups to join its 6-months comprehensive accelerator programme. These include Digest Africa, LipaLater, Kudigo, Allpro, and EazyHire. All five cohorts received funding between £30,000 and £100,000.

The new partnership with Netcare offers a niche approach to reach its target. Over the next few years, the FFA program will accelerate five healthTech startups a year and incubate two.

Application for the accelerator program is currently open till September 6, 2019.

ELIGIBILITY

Selection for the FFA’s health tech accelerator program considers

• Startups working in the field of healthTech
• Startups with a Pan-African focus
• Post-revenue startups, meaning the accelerator program is more suitable for growth-stage startups.

BENEFITS

Startups in the accelerator program will receive funding of £30,000, as well as 6 months of dedicated support services from FFA worth £220,000.

THERE IS MORE

The FFA Incubator program is also targeting healthTech startups to address the issues. As opposed to the accelerator, the Incubator is open for entrepreneurs who want to build a new concept from scratch.

Incubated ventures will receive £60,000 funding and £100,000 in support services. Startups will also benefit from Netcare’s support network, technologies and expertise in the healthcare sector.