Beyond the Pitch: The Stories Driving FemSTEM Africa 2025

Pillar

Health Entrepreneurship

The room buzzed with anticipation as six women founders took the stage in Kigali, each carrying an idea rooted in their communities and lived experiences — ideas with the potential to reshape African health systems. From newborn care to maternal health, these ventures were born from personal experience: problems they had lived through, seen firsthand, and refused to accept as normal.

This was the spirit of FemSTEM Africa 2025, held at the African Leadership University (ALU)’s Rwanda Campus. Organised under the Africa Health Collaborative and supported by the African Leadership University (ALU), Health Innovation Hub (H2i), the Mastercard Foundation, and Susteneri Attorneys, the gathering brought together more than 70 innovators — students, founders, mentors, and healthcare leaders — to share stories, collaborate, and spark change.

That momentum had already been growing. In the months before Kigali, a series of online fireside chats and in-person hackathons brought women founders from across the continent together to share their stories. Some were just starting out, like Mahlodi Letsie (Bare Mind Holdings) and Faith Chuby Labija (ChuChu Softies), while others, such as Fiona Nuwamanya (Rocket Health Africa) and Leah Nduati (Yoga Experiences Africa), spoke about the realities of scaling a healthcare startup. By the time everyone arrived in Rwanda, many participants already felt part of a community.

From Stage to Spotlight: The Pitchers Who Stood Out
The momentum carried into the FemSTEM Africa Pitch Competition, where six ventures from six countries competed for CAD$25,000 in funding and CAD$15,000 in pro-bono legal services. Each of the solutions presented was more than a concept—they were working prototypes or ventures under early deployment, shaped by visionary founders tackling tough challenges head-on.

The lineup featured Blandine Umuziranenge, founder of Kosmotive; Faith Taiwo, founder of OneClick-Med; Prudence Ibila, founder of UzimaNexus, Maclyn Jerry, founder of Pro Plus; Mahlodi Letsie, founder of Bare Mind; and Nura Izath, founder of Neosave.

After dynamic pitching rounds and extensive deliberation by judges, three winners emerged — each with a story that combines personal motivation, continuous iterations, and bold vision.

Neosave Technologies (Uganda) — Fighting for Newborns

When Nura Izath’s newborn nephew battled hypothermia, she identified a wider crisis—
babies dying unnoticed in overcrowded, under-resourced hospitals. Determined to act,
she drew on her biomedical engineering skills to create Autothermo: a low-cost, wearable device that monitors a baby’s temperature, heart rate, and oxygen levels. Instead of complicated charts, the device uses simple emoji-style symbols to alert caregivers when something is wrong.

It sounds simple, but in under-resourced hospitals, that simplicity can mean the difference between life and death. Izath has already taken the device through lab testing and early clinical trials in Uganda. Winning FemSTEM gives her team not only funding but also mentorship and visibility.

“Winning is an inspiration, but also a motivation to bring our solution into reality. With mentorship and guidance, we are really geared towards bringing Autothermo to life,” she said after the pitch.

Kosmotive (Rwanda) — Breaking the Menstrual Health Taboo

Blandine Umuziranenge started Kosmotive a decade ago with one clear mission: to make women’s health a priority in Rwanda. She remembers watching classmates skip school because they couldn’t afford pads — something that should have been basic yet held girls back from their education and dignity.

Her company now produces KosmoPads, eco-friendly, reusable pads made in Rwanda, alongside a digital health platform and even a magazine that shares practical advice. Over the years, Kosmotive has reached a good number of girls and women, helping them stay in school, work with confidence, and talk more openly about reproductive health.

For Blandine, the FemSTEM recognition wasn’t just about the prize money. It was about showing that menstrual health — too often dismissed as a “women’s issue” — is central to community health, education, and gender equality.

Pro Plus (Tanzania) — Bridging the Gap in Maternal Care

In Tanzania, many women still face long, uncertain journeys to reach maternal care. That’s the problem Pro Plus, led by Maclyn Jerry and her team, is tackling with their platform Kasa Africa. It combines digital tools with last-mile delivery, making sure essential supplies and trusted information reach women even in remote areas.

The idea came from seeing mothers struggle to get even the most basic care.  Their solution is still growing, but the FemSTEM win means they can expand logistics, improve the platform, and work more closely with local health providers. For many mothers, that could mean safer pregnancies and healthier newborns.

While the spotlight was on the winners, all six female founders carried a powerful story. From 3D printing medical equipment to creating safe spaces for pregnant women, these ideas were rooted in lived experience and a passion to develop locally relevant solutions.

Reflections and What’s Next

The event closed with reflections on impact.

“When women are at the forefront of providing solutions, they embody empathy and know how to properly address the challenges of women’s health in Africa,” said Dr. Achieng’ Aling’, Director of Health Programs at ALU.

“This is the first time we’ve had six venture women not only pitch their ideas, but present innovations that are already being tested or used in clinics — and in some cases, even available on the market. The future looks incredibly bright for FemSTEM Africa and for health care across the continent”, said Dr. Paul Santerre, Director of the University of Toronto’s H2I.

FemSTEM Africa is more than an event — it’s a movement shaping the future of female-led health innovation. What began in Kigali is only the beginning, and with FemSTEM 2026 in Ghana on the horizon, we look forward to an even bolder chapter ahead.

Over two days, the themes of lived experience, agility, and community revealed something powerful: women in STEM are not just navigating barriers — they’re reshaping the health innovation landscape. Spaces like FemSTEM ignite collective strength, where founders lift each other up, celebrate wins together, and turn shared challenges into opportunities.