Oct 15-Oct 17

2023 Annual Convening in Cape Town, South Africa

Location
Protea Hotel by Marriott, Waterfront Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town, South Africa
Date(s)
Oct 15-17, 2023

The University of Cape Town (UCT) proudly hosted the inaugural Health Collaborative Convening from October 15 – 17, 2023, at the scenic Protea Hotel by Marriott, Waterfront Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town, South Africa.

This was the first of our many Convenings on the Continent, open only to the Health Collaborative partner institutions and attendance by invitation only. This year’s event welcomed 150 delegates from our nine partner universities and the Mastercard Foundation. The annual convening featured a networked approach for the sector divisions to collectively address shared health-sector challenges as well as specific local ones. The purpose was to leverage on the power of higher education institutions as sites of knowledge exchange and community collaboration, and nexuses for cross-sector partnerships. The value of building meaningful connections was a key theme throughout the Convening, and collaborations and partnerships created were the most reported gains by participants, with 97 percent indicating that they are confident that a lasting community was created within the Health Collaborative. 

More News & Events

Scroll with the left and right arrow keys

Venture Spotlight: BetaLife Health

BetaLife Health uses artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize blood supply management across Africa. Their platform uses predictive analytics to optimize blood inventory levels, distribution logistics and donor engagement, thereby improving the timeliness and availability of blood for transfusions.

Venture Spotlight: Remedius Mobile Health

Remedius Mobile Health aims to combat the identified problems by leveraging telemedicine through the Remedius Live platform. They seek to provide fast virtual appointment scheduling with doctors and specialists at affordable rates of about five dollars and provide comprehensive care to chronically ill patients. This is executed through an integral network of facilities that provide physical care to these patients if need arises. 

Venture Spotlight: Powerstove Energy

Powerstove designs and manufactures smart smoke-free cookstoves that also self-generate electricity for users to charge their mobile phones and power home appliances using proprietary renewable bio-pellets as fuel. These sustainable, mosquito repellent bio-pellets are produced from post-harvest crops and wood waste.

Venture Spotlight: SnooCODERED

SnooCODERED aims to solve the problem of inadequate healthcare infrastructure (systems, facilities and human resources) in Africa. It is doing this by providing a suite of cost-effective mobile healthcare logistics applications that democratize access to the ambulance or first aid response, facilitate the delivery of medical supplies to diverse populations, and improve contact tracing and epidemiological modelling.

Venture Spotlight: Telemedan

Telemedan creates telemedicine kiosks in underserved communities in order to move toward closing the healthcare accessibility gap. Their kiosks facilitate video conferences between patient and doctor. They are equipped with medical devices for taking vital signs, such as ECG analysis, temperature measurement and blood oxygen saturation. Further, they feature stethoscopes, dermascopes, an HD camera and a scanner for the easy sharing of documents and lab results. With a focus on ease-of-access, Telemedan’s kiosks are user-friendly and accessible to those of varying levels of technology literacy.

Venture Spotlight: BuriCare Limited

BuriCare Limited has launched their Kangacare baby carriers, designed to address the critical need for newborn care, especially in regions lacking adequate neonatal facilities. With only four Neonatal Intensive Care Units available in their country, Kangaroo Mother Care emerged as a cost-effective solution, promoting vital skin-to-skin contact between mother and newborn to regulate body temperature. These locally knitted carriers are equipped with essential sensors capable of monitoring the baby’s temperature, pulse rate, and oxygen saturation. In the event of any abnormalities, an alarm alerts the mother to seek immediate assistance.

Venture Spotlight: A-Lite Vein Locator

The A-Lite Vein Locator is a medical device that facilitates the non-invasive detection of veins under the skin. Using the A-Lite Vein Locator shortens cannulation time by up to 88.5 seconds and lowers the risk of needle-stick injuries and infections. Further, the use of the A-Lite Vein Locator has been shown to decrease medical waste and unnecessary use of clinic resources. 

Venture Spotlight: Vas MedTech

Vas MedTech offers FlexiGyn, a portable, user-guided, and minimally invasive diagnostic camera that can operate in less specialized settings. This innovation is not only cost-effective, but also enhances accessibility. FlexiGyn enables community primary healthcare providers, such as nurses and general practitioners, to perform initial screenings and seamlessly consult with gynecologists for further diagnosis and referrals. FlexiGyn aims to make comprehensive women’s health care more accessible and convenient than ever before, thus addressing a global disparity in women’s health services.