Catalysing global healthcare: innovations and strategies for scalable impact

Innovative funding models for healthcare scale-up

How much time should innovators spend seeking grants and funding? Is relying on grants a sustainable model for scaling businesses? For start-ups in low- to middle-income economies, how can they balance the need for a sustainable business model with the financial stability required to keep operations running? One key strategy is to align innovations with government priorities, as the government is often the largest client for healthcare innovations. Pursuing active collaboration with public entities can bring innovations closer to adoption and ensure the long-term sustainability of the business.

Presentations

Why is so much start-up funding going after such a small set of the same projects?

Dr Watu Wamae

During her presentation, Dr Wamae addressed the critical challenges of funding healthcare innovation, particularly for early-stage ventures. She spoke of a significant funding gap, pointing out that 99% of available funding is directed toward later-stage ventures, leaving early-stage innovations vulnerable to failure — a phenomenon often referred to as the Valley of Death.

Traditional funding models overwhelmingly favoured established ventures while neglecting the crucial need for early-stage capital. This, she explained, creates a systemic barrier that prevents promising healthcare solutions from advancing beyond the conceptual phase. She also identified what she termed as “Grantpreneur syndrome”, where startups become overly dependent on grants rather than focusing on developing sustainable, scalable business models. This reliance on grant funding, while providing short-term financial relief, can ultimately hinder a company’s ability to attract long-term investment and achieve widespread impact.

To address these challenges, Dr Wamae advocated for “patient capital”, a form of impact-driven investment that prioritises long-term healthcare improvements over immediate financial returns. She called for a shift toward blended finance models, impact investing, and public-private partnerships as viable solutions for supporting early-stage healthcare innovations.

In addition, she emphasised the critical role of data infrastructure, AI, and digital technologies in enhancing the viability and scalability of healthcare investments. By leveraging these tools, innovators can strengthen their investment readiness, improve healthcare delivery efficiency, and increase accessibility to underserved populations.

There is an urgent need to rethink funding approaches in healthcare innovation, ensuring that promising early-stage solutions receive the necessary support to scale and achieve sustainable, long-term impact.

Sustainable healthcare innovation and investment readiness: from the perspective of Philips Foundation

Dr Bahaa Eddine Sarroukh

Dr Sarroukh focused on sustainable healthcare investment, emphasising end-user needs in low and middle-income markets. He introduced the Philips Foundation Impact Investments, which supports healthcare ventures through long term funding and partnerships to strengthen local ecosystems.

He gave three examples of successful projects they had funded, including Access Afya, a digital healthcare platform that improved affordability of healthcare services, iMedrix, a mobile, cloud connected device which enables real-time cardiac monitoring in remote areas, and Healthy Entrepreneurs, which trains community health workers to deliver medical services.

A key component of the presentation was the introduction of a multi-level maturity model designed to assess the scalability of healthcare ventures. This framework evaluates crucial aspects such as team capabilities, value proposition, market validation, and exit strategies, ensuring that ventures are well-positioned for sustainable growth.

He stressed the role of blended financing, technology-driven solutions, and strong regulatory frameworks in ensuring sustainable healthcare innovation. His presentation highlighted the need for an integrated approach that combines funding, innovation, and policy to drive impact in underserved regions.

Scaling innovations in the public sector

Dr Josea Rono

Dr Rono started the presentation by emphasising that scaling healthcare innovations in the public sector requires a demand-driven approach, ensuring alignment with government priorities and healthcare system needs. He encouraged participants to shift their approach by first engaging stakeholders — particularly government bodies — to understand pressing challenges, spending priorities, and critical healthcare gaps before developing solutions.

He introduced the Million Lives Collective (MLC), a global initiative dedicated to scaling proven healthcare innovations. MLC supports innovators by highlighting impactful solutions, connecting them with investors and collaborators, and sharing key insights on the scaling process.

He highlighted the public sector scaling checklist tool. This structured framework helps innovators navigate public sector adoption by identifying government demands, aligning solutions with public priorities, addressing regulatory and policy requirements, and securing funding and policy support for seamless healthcare integration. Public-private partnerships are important in achieving large-scale healthcare innovation.

Three essential factors for public sector investment readiness include:

• Government co-creation and ownership – engaging policymakers early to enhance adoption and long-term sustainability.
• Regulatory compliance – ensuring legal and policy adherence to build trust and credibility.
• A clear go-to-market strategy – developing well-defined implementation pathways for widespread adoption.

Collaborative ecosystems: partnerships for catalysing healthcare

Each sector in the innovation chain brings unique strengths essential for progress. Academia fosters research and discovery, industry drives commercialisation, NGOs ensure accessibility and equity, and governments provide regulatory support and funding. Collaboration among these sectors enhances their complementarity. Ultimately, healthcare innovation is not just about developing new technologies but also understanding the economic, technological, and social factors that influence adoption and sustainability. Ignoring the interconnectedness required to advance innovations can result in event the the most ground-breaking innovation solutions struggling to make a lasting impact

Key takeaways:

• Successful healthcare innovation requires understanding economic, technological, and social influences.
• Academia, industry, NGOs and government must unite for sustainable healthcare solutions. Success in healthcare innovation depends on partnerships across sectors.
• The gap in medtech innovation coupled with weak local manufacturing systems in Africa has led to over-reliance on outdated imported technology.
• Cultural differences significantly impact product viability and should be carefully considered. Value can come from improving existing products: start small, then scale.
• Understanding unit economics and profitability early is crucial for long-term sustainability.

Presentations

Innovating global healthcare: through technology and collaboration

Dr. Evona Teh

Dr Teh shared a personal story about choosing between scholarships in medicine and engineering. Initially drawn to medicine for its impact, she followed her mother’s advice to pursue engineering, leading to a career that merges technology and healthcare.

As founder of EV Medical Consulting and a visiting professor at Imperial College London, she stressed the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in healthcare. She focuses on identifying inefficiencies in patient care and implementing quality improvement frameworks such as the UK National Health Service’s (NHS) Quality and Outcomes Framework, which can be adapted for different cultural contexts, such as Malaysia.

Dr Teh discussed global healthcare trends, including demographic divides that could worsen inequalities. She highlighted cultural differences in response to AI – western caution vs. eastern trust – and emerging innovations such as human augmentation and brain-computer interfaces to enhance cognitive functions. She also underscored 6G’s potential to revolutionise healthcare through real-time data sharing and enhanced connectivity.

Reflections on African medtech innovation and commercialisation

Wambui Gachiengo Nyabero

Wambui Nyabero’s presentation provided a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities in Africa’s medtech sector, drawing from her interaction with officials at a faith-based hospital in Kenya. She highlighted a critical issue: the lack of functional and adequate medical equipment. Many hospitals rely on outdated, imported, or donated equipment — often over 15 years old — which is difficult to maintain due to a shortage of trained local technicians and a reliance on costly external repairs. Over 90% of Kenya’s medical technology is imported, with limited after-sales support, creating what she termed “equipment graveyards”.

The high costs and fragmented market make it difficult for healthcare providers to sustain operations, and the weak local manufacturing ecosystem further limits innovation. She stressed the need for diverse leadership to drive innovation and create more inclusive solutions.

To tackle these challenges, she advocated for:

• A data-driven, user-centric approach to ensure innovations meet real healthcare needs.
• Practical training and technical transfer to bridge skills gaps.
• Harmonised regulatory frameworks across Africa, leveraging pan-African trade agreements.
• Local manufacturing to reduce dependency on imports, citing innovation such as VacciBox from Norah Magero as successful models.

By fostering collaboration, regional integration, and investment in local production, Nyabero believes Africa can develop a more sustainable and efficient medtech industry.

Entrepreneurship in global healthcare: leveraging expertise for scalable impact

Maryanne Muriuki

Maryanne Muriuki shared her entrepreneurial journey, which began in the US with a vision to manufacture in Africa. Together with a team of Kenyans, she launched a polystyrene food packaging business in Kenya, importing a manufacturing line from China.

What initially seemed promising quickly revealed unexpected challenges. Cultural differences, such as Kenyans’ preference for stews over burgers, made their US-inspired packaging design impractical. Additionally, navigating Kenya’s complex regulatory landscape also proved far more challenging than anticipated. Muriuki and her team realised they did not fully understand the demands of setting up a business in Kenya.

From 2014 to 2019, she ran the business until a fire forced its closure. Reflecting on her experience, Muriuki emphasised key entrepreneurial lessons:

• Customer-centric innovation – products must align with local needs.
• Regulatory awareness – understanding government policies is crucial.
• Capital and research – research-backed funding enhances business survival.
• Collaboration – finding the right partners drives scalability.
• Incremental improvement – innovation is not about novelty but about enhancing existing products.
• Sustainable growth – focus on unit economics and profitability rather than conferences or chasing funding.

Maryanne stressed that healthcare innovation, especially in medical devices and systems, requires collaboration between governments, academia, private industries, and nonprofits.

Keynote Speakers

Dr Nabeel Goheer

Chief of the Asia, Middle East and Europe
(AMEE) region, PATH

Dr Goheer’s speech focused on the critical role of research, innovation, and collaboration in advancing global health, structured around four key themes.

He began by highlighting the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in over $16 trillion in economic losses – equivalent to three years of global economic output. The pandemic claimed over 7 million recorded lives, with an estimated 14 million additional unreported deaths – a scale equivalent to the loss of sixteen countries the size of Barbados. However, Dr Goheer noted that innovation played a crucial role in saving millions of lives. “By quickly collaborating and developing testing kits and vaccines, innovators saved us,” he noted, underscoring the power of scientific ingenuity and partnerships. Moving to the broader landscape of global health, Dr Goheer discussed the intricate landscape of global health, outlining major players driving innovation, funding, and research. Philanthropic organisations such as the Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Global Fund, and GAVI play a significant role, alongside multilateral development banks such the World Bank, which provide substantial financial resources. He noted that the global healthcare market is worth nearly $7 trillion, offering significant funding opportunities for innovators. However, he cautioned that funding alone is not enough – understanding market dynamics, regulations, and global health priorities is essential for success. “As an innovator, you must understand the market to know where to pitch your ideas,” he advised.

Dr Goheer then introduced PATH, where he leads operations across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. He highlighted its significant contributions, including its role in the WHO prequalified malaria vaccine in 2023, developed with support from the Gates Foundation. PATH’s work spans multiple areas from supporting 1,400 innovations and helping commercialise solutions to advancing research, product development, and affordable healthcare technologies.  The organisation also integrates climate adaptation into health innovation and leverages AI, data, and digital health to improve diagnostics and accessibility. He encouraged innovators to align their work with global funding sources and regulatory frameworks, engaging with stakeholders early to avoid delays in approvals and scale their impact efficiently.

Solving global health challenges requires a tapestry of diverse perspectives. Collaboration is not just beneficial - it is essential

Dr Evelyn Gitau

Chief scientific officer, Science for Africa Foundation

Dr Gitau opened her speech by highlighting global healthcare challenges, including infectious diseases, rising non-communicable diseases, and climate resilience. Despite these, she reiterated that opportunities for healthcare transformation still exist, through innovation, funding and partnerships, noting that COVID-19 demonstrated the power of cross border collaboration.

She then introduced the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA), a pan African non-profit dedicated to strengthening and promoting science and innovation. The foundation’s strategic plan aims to position it as a leader in advancing African science for a better future. Its mission is to enhance Africa’s science and innovation ecosystems to address sustainable development challenges and improve lives.

Dr Gitau highlighted two of the foundation’s most impactful flagship programmes:

1. Grand Challenges Africa (GC Africa) supportsAfrica-led scientific innovations aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme provides seed and scaleup grants for promising solutions. Notable projects that the foundation has supported
through this include:

• Incas diagnostics, which reduced yaws diagnosis time from two weeks to two hours, benefiting over 15,000 people. They also developed HIV and malaria test kits, impacting over a million individuals, and a rapid COVID-19 test.
• Friendship Bench project delivered 349,838 mental health consultations and trained over 2,100 community health workers (“community grandmothers”) to provide localised mental health support.

2. DELTAS Africa strengthens research capacity through a hub-and-spoke model, where a lead institution collaborates with multiple partners across countries to secure grants and implement scientific programs. Key achievements include:

• Strengthening research training and creating career pathways with 2,011 fellows to date, including 738 undergraduates, 388 master’s students, and 335 PhD candidates.
• Fostering equitable research collaboration while engaging policymakers and the public, with 976 collaborations established (both individual and institutional), 258 community engagement activities reaching over 35 million people, and 2,479 research dissemination activities reaching over 104 million people.

Dr Gitau concluded by recalling the need for diverse perspectives in addressing global health challenges. She urged stakeholders including academia, policymakers, the private sector, and communities to collaborate on inclusive and innovative solutions. She encouraged attendees to use the symposium to forge lasting partnerships, break down silos, and drive healthcare innovations forward.