Lake Region Economic Bloc Call for Innovations

Accelerating Universal Health Coverage through Sustainable innovations.

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Lake Region Economic Bloc – Call for Health Innovations

Are you an innovator with bold, practical solutions to solve real challenges in public healthcare service delivery?

If yes, this call is for you.

The Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) is dedicated to fostering transformative innovations that address critical healthcare challenges across its fourteen member counties. As part of this commitment, LREB is inviting innovators to respond to its 2025 Call for health Innovations, targeting prioritized and validated health innovation demand areas identified by the innovation cohort in the region. 

Background

The LREB is one of the six economic blocs in Kenya and is a consortium of 14 counties in Western part of Kenya formed to foster socio-economic development through collaborative approaches in key sectors, including health. To further these objectives, LREB is implementing the Public Sector Scaling (PSS) of health innovations through the Mountain Model (MM) framework. The MM is a multi-level, government-led model that provides a framework for open and demand-driven selection, sustainable adoption, and integration of healthcare innovations within county health systems.

Through the MM framework, the LREB health innovation cohort (consisting of county representatives) has articulated high-priority innovation demand areas and is now looking for scale-ready innovations that can offer integrated solutions and address these health system and service delivery challenges.

Overview of the LREB Call for Innovation

This initiative seeks to bridge gaps in access, availability, use, efficiency, and quality of priority health services by targeting the identified and prioritized health challenges and gaps within the region. Selected innovations will be assessed based on their alignment to needs, scalability, sustainability, and impact potential within LREB counties. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to contribute to a more resilient and effective healthcare system, driving meaningful change in the region.

If your solution aligns with any of the innovation themes listed in the demand articulation summary table below and you are ready and interested to scale the solution in the public sector, this is your opportunity to partner with county governments and potentially unlock funding and technical support from LREB counties and their partners.

Objectives

The Call for Innovations aims to identify and support adoption and scaling of groundbreaking solutions that strengthen health systems and enhance service delivery for better patient outcomes. In this specific call, the focus will be on maternal, newborn, and adolescent health and Non-communicable Diseases (NCD).

Ultimately, this initiative seeks to work with the selected health innovators and the LREB Innovation Cohort to:

  • Identify suitable public sector scaling mechanisms/pathways for selected innovations that are aligned with county priorities.
  • Attract and allocate resources needed for the adoption and scaling of the innovations (from government funds and other third parties) .
  • Institutionalize sustainable systems and processes for identifying and scaling health innovations within the public sector.
  • Enhance healthcare service delivery through cost-effective and scalable interventions.
  • Foster collaboration between innovators, healthcare providers, regulators, and policymakers.

Innovation Demand Articulation Summary

The LREB innovation demand areas and overall health outcomes are summarised in this  diagram (click link) and in the table below. If your solution addresses one or more of these prioritized demand areas and has demonstrated impact, we encourage you to apply.

Priority AreaDescriptionInnovation Focus Areas
1. Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH)Poor utilization of services leading to high maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality.
  • Timely provision of effective, low-cost, life-saving interventions (technology, drugs, procedures). 
  • Clinical decision-making support and data generation for timely recognition and management of complications. 
  • Management of hypothermia in newborns. 
  • Management of life-threatening maternal and neonatal conditions. 
  • Incentives for facility deliveries and health promotion to increase service utilization. 
  • Increased access to diagnostics (e.g., antenatal profile). 
  • Teenage pregnancy prevention strategies
2.Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)Increasing burden of NCDs in a weak health system leading to late case identification and high morbidity and mortality.
  • Continuous medical education and learning systems for frontline staff (updated guidelines, job aids). 
  • Increased access to diagnostics and linkage to care (e.g., screening digital tools with referral systems, patient navigation support). 
  • Enhanced access to specialized care (mobile services, telemedicine, self-monitoring linked to care). 
  • Supply chain innovations (tracking and stock management for medicines and supplies, ensuring end-to-end visibility of NCD healthcare products).
  • Increasing identification of mental health challenges (including self-identification) and linkage to care
Gaps in Supportive Systems for Priority Areas 1 & 2 Above
a)Community Engagement StrategyIneffective community health services contributing to high maternal, newborn, and NCD-related morbidity and mortality
  •  Increasing community health literacy through digital tools. 
  • Engaging men in health services (prevention, promotion, curative, and rehabilitation) to improve uptake by families. 
  • Empowering Community Health Promoters (CHPs) to support MNCH and NCD health services.
b)Health Management Information Systems (HMIS)Non-responsive HMIS systems that do not support evidence-based decision-making, contributing to high morbidity and mortality
  • Addressing infrastructural challenges such as power and internet connectivity.
c)Emergency Medical Response & Transport SystemsIneffective emergency medical response both within the health system and in the community, leading to high maternal, newborn, and NCD-related morbidity and mortality.
  • Establishing effective emergency transport systems that are high-quality, affordable, accessible, and efficient. 
  • Empowering communities to access and utilize emergency transport services.

    What is in it for you?

    Successful applicants will benefit from;
    • Visibility: The initiative offers the shortlisted innovative solutions an opportunity to be showcased at an innovation fair, thereby interacting and engaging with county public officials. Additionally, the county innovation fair will have other relevant stakeholders, such as national-level government officials, development partners, potential funders, and national agencies supporting innovations in the country.
    • Identification of suitable scaling pathways-The innovative solutions that are selected by the counties will benefit from in-depth support in the identification and structuring of suitable and sustainable public sector scaling pathways as well as navigating public sector procurement frameworks.
    • Support attracting and allocating resources for adoption and scaling. It is important to note that by the design of this process, there is no predetermined amount of funding set aside for the selected innovations. Rather, after identification of suitable scaling pathways, the initiative will support counties and selected innovators to seek and allocate resources for scaling. This may include existing public sector budgets, donor funds, cost-sharing mechanisms, and reimbursements from insurers, among others, depending on the nature, design, and implementation/business model of the innovation.
    • Collaboration opportunities with county governments, health agencies, and private sector players Successful innovations will have the opportunity to collaborate with county governments, health development agencies, and private sector partners to scale and implement their solutions effectively. These partnerships may provide: 

    `(a) Resource Mobilization—Support innovators in accessing funding and infrastructure support from both public and private sector funding agencies in the ecosystem. 

     (b) Technical assistance: Link the innovators with other ecosystem actors such as regulators, TA providers, and relevant implementing partners (for partnership and synergy).

      Eligibility Criteria

      We are looking for proven innovations (whether product/device, service, process or partnership innovations) that address the listed LREB priority demands/needs. 

      The innovations should be scale-ready (beyond concept and testing stages) with a proven, market-ready solution.

      • Innovations such as medical devices that require local certification and licensing should possess the requisite registration and approval for use in Kenya.
      • The innovators should also demonstrate the willingness and ability to participate in the entire duration of the initiative, which is estimated to be at least 12 months or more.
      • Innovators should have experience working with the public sector and their solutions should have demonstrable impact.
      • Solutions should be tailored to LREB’s priority health areas with potential for adoption across multiple counties.
      • Innovators should be willing to collaborate with LREB stakeholders for implementation, integration and evaluation.
      • Innovators should have the requisite institutional capacity to scale in the public sector

      Other eligibility criteria

      •The innovator should be an existing legal entity: Registered Business or Social Enterprise

      •The innovator should have been in operation for at least 3 years.

      • Nature/Type of Innovation: Any type of health innovation (product/device, service, process, partnership, combinations etc.) that contributes directly or indirectly to the listed priorities and preferably addresses multiple demand areas.

      Note: Preference will be given to innovative solutions that address several innovation focus areas, in an integrated approach.

      How to participate:

      This is an open opportunity to engage in a structured and facilitated government-led scaling initiative

      1. Submit your application via this platform link, attaching alink to a pitch deck (max 12 slides in PDF) and other related documents as instructed in the application form.
      2. Your pitch should address:
        1. Organizational capacity
        2. Problem-solution fit based on LREB’s demand areas
        3. Evidence of impact and scalability
        4. Technology and team capacity
        5. Business model and sustainability approach
        6. Government engagement experience and other relevant partnerships.
      By submitting your application, you consent to allow LREB, county governments in Kenya, regulatory bodies, the Ministry of Health (MoH), Insight Health Advisors, their funders and partners, as well as other affiliated entities, to review your submission for eligibility and accuracy.

      Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until April 25th, 2025.

      For inquiries, email us at
      admin@insighthealthadvisors.com

      Overview

      9
      Closes April 25, 2025
      Program dates Apr 1-Apr 30
      OrganizerInsight Health Advisors
      Website Visit website
      Targets Kenya
      Sectors Healthcare, HealthTech
      SDG (2)
      17. Partnerships to achieve the Goal, 3. Good Health and Well-being
      Partner Program Lake Region Economic Bloc Call for Innovations image of IHA DESIGN
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