This year, the University of Toronto had a unique opportunity to connect some of Africa’s brightest entrepreneurs with the thriving Canadian startup ecosystem, as well as Africa’s expanding diaspora community of investors and entrepreneurs in Canada. Twelve of the 2022 winners of the Health Entrepreneurship under African Impact Challenge were fully immersed in Toronto’s vibrant entrepreneurial community, gaining invaluable experiences and insights through a fully funded opportunity from June to August 2023.
Introduced by the Mastercard Foundation, the Africa Health Collaborative is an international network of nine African universities and the University of Toronto. The Collaborative focuses on strengthening primary healthcare across Africa and empowering the continent’s health sector through transformative education and innovation through three pillars: Health Employment, Health Entrepreneurship and Health Ecosystem. To contribute to the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar, the African Impact Challenge connects health entrepreneurial ecosystems through knowledge exchange and collaborative practice on a global scale. The African Impact Challenge program aims to build the Africa we want to see, by investing in the continent’s early innovators, enabling them to build market-creating innovations which tackle their community’s biggest challenges with technology.
As one of the programs under Health Entrepreneurship in the Health Collaborative, the African Impact Challenge works to provide capital, resources, systems infrastructure, operational support, and strategic counsel to selected healthcare startups committed to driving social development and long-term economic growth in their home countries. This innovative program not only supported capacity building but also fostered intercultural learning for start-up founders by giving them the opportunity to visit Toronto for ten weeks. We had an exciting time capturing the founders as they shared their experiences throughout the ten weeks of their stay in Toronto. Here’s a snippet of how that went on.
The University of Toronto’s campus-linked accelerators the BRIDGE, ICUBE, and Health Innovation Hub (H2i) were the patrons of the African Impact Challenge visit to Toronto. Staff from the BRIDGE, ICUBE, and H2i were involved in the planning and implementing various sessions in the entrepreneurial-based programming.
The campus-linked accelerators offered comprehensive support to the venture founders, including individualized mentoring sessions and guidance on expanding their businesses through valuable connections with business development experts. In addition to enjoyable, educational and productive excursions like participating in entrepreneurial events such as the Collision conference, exploring Niagara Falls and visiting various business incubators in Toronto. The entrepreneurs immersed themselves in over 150 hours of training, mentorship and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) curriculum integration throughout their visit. Additionally, the Office of the Vice President International (OVPI) and the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) organized special networking sessions for the founders. Originating from six different African countries, the visiting startups not only showed diversity but also displayed a remarkable level of innovation. Their solutions addressed a wide spectrum of healthcare challenges, in areas including sustainability, healthcare access, big data and artificial intelligence, wearable technology, mobility, and beyond. To learn more about the visiting cohort of entrepreneurs and their inspiring and groundbreaking ventures, you can explore their individual spotlights here: 2022 African Impact Challenge Venture Spotlights.
More News & Events
Skip scroller content
#IWD2026: Give to Gain—The Ripple Effect of Investing in Women Leaders in Global Health
Read about how fellows from the Women in Global Health Leadership Fellowship are leading and strengthening health systems across Africa.
FemSTEM Africa 2026: Kickoff Event & Panel
Join Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) & U of T on Tuesday, March 31 as we kickoff the FemSTEM Africa 2026 event series!
Program Manager, Africa Health Collaborative
Apply for the Program Manager role at the Africa Health Collaborative. Closing date is March 20, 2026.
Apply for the Introduction to Public Policy Summer Course by Ashesi University
This opportunity is open to alumni and graduating students from our Africa Health Collaborative partner universities.
Towards Integrated, Person-Centered Primary Health Care in South Africa
Join policy makers, health implementers, NGOs, civil society actors, and academic leaders to learn from one of South Africa’s foremost health system leaders about building stronger and more responsive primary health care systems.
From Clinics to Communities: Rethinking Maternal and Newborn Health in Africa
Dr. Henry Kilonzo explores evidence-based lessons from Kenya and Ethiopia about redesigning health systems for safe motherhood.
Building Inclusive Health Systems for People in Contact with the Criminal Justice System in Africa
Join this webinar to explore how Africa can build inclusive health systems that protect the dignity, safety, and well‑being of people who come into contact with the criminal justice system.
Dignity, Data, and Disruption in Africa’s Health Systems: A Young Leader’s Reflection
John Nyagaka, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar and AHC Young Leaders Table Chair, reflects on his transformative experience at the 2025 Annual Convening.
What Works: Improving Maternal and Newborn Health in Kenya and Ethiopia
Join this webinar to explore how community-led systems and digital innovations, in partnership with local leaders, are scaling sustainable healthcare impact and delivering life-saving care for mothers and their newborns.
Apply for the AIMS Master’s in Mathematical Epidemiology (MathEpi) Scholarship
Apply for the 2025 AIMS MathEpi Master’s program. Fully funded scholarships for African students in statistics and public health. Deadline: March 15.