Empowering innovation and entrepreneurship in healthcare
Health Entrepreneurship (HENT)
The Health Entrepreneurship Pillar empowers aspiring women and youth entrepreneurs with training, mentorship and financial support to develop innovations, create jobs, and transform the health sector.
Impact of Entrepreneurship on Africa
As African health sectors grow, health entrepreneurship has immense potential to accelerate that growth and support better health outcomes by creating self-sustaining market solutions that close gaps in the health sector, meet community needs, generate revenue, and provide resilience and stability, thereby creating significant employment opportunities.
In addressing these challenges, HENT equips and empowers aspiring entrepreneurs with essential skills and knowledge, mentorship opportunities, and direct financial support, such as seed funding, fostering a robust culture of entrepreneurship for their success.
Within an African-led framework where health entrepreneurship and health innovation are encouraged and sufficiently supported, aspiring entrepreneurs are then able to bring their transformative, locally generated ideas to fruition and create companies, products, services and health-related jobs that strengthens health sectors.
Our health entrepreneurship network is deeply rooted in the unique local contexts of each partner, empowering entrepreneurs to launch and grow businesses. These businesses leverage indigenous knowledge, medicines, and practices in healthcare, create market solutions for burgeoning health sectors, and generate revenue, thus creating jobs in primary and various other healthcare areas.
By providing youth with entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, financial support, tools, access to materials, access to markets, technology, experience and exposure, they will be able to achieve entrepreneurial self-efficacy and significantly contribute to the Health Sector Network’s intertwined goals of strengthening economies through robust health sectors and employing Africa’s youth in stable, dignified jobs.
The Power of Partnership
Our Goal
Implement and sustain entrepreneurial ecosystems that launch health start-ups, generate revenue, and create meaningful employment.
How HENT and Partners work together
Under the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar, Health Collaborative Partners work to co-create, train and empower a generation of youth and women entrepreneurs to launch health start-ups, generate revenue, and create meaningful employment.
Explore HENT Activities
Programs
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African Impact Challenge
African Impact Challenge, The BRIDGE, University of Toronto, University of Toronto Scarborough
Canada
Ethiopia
Ghana
Kenya
Mauritius
Rwanda
South Africa
Ashesi Health & Care Initiative Incubator (AHCI2)
Ashesi University, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of Toronto Scarborough
Canada
Ghana
Collaborative Research: Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning & Adaptation (MELA) @ 2-year Evaluation: HENT
University of Toronto
Canada
Corporate Health Entrepreneurship
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto
Canada
Ghana
Epidemiology for Entrepreneurs
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto
Canada
Ghana
FemSTEM
Health Innovation Hub (H2i), University of Toronto
Canada
Ethiopia
Ghana
Kenya
Mauritius
Rwanda
South Africa
Health Business Research Methods
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto
Canada
Ghana
Health Ecosystem
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto
Canada
Ghana
Health Innovation and New Venture Creation
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto
Canada
Ghana
Health Innovation Hub (H2i) @ AAU
Addis Ababa University, Health Innovation Hub (H2i), University of Toronto
Canada
Ethiopia
Health Innovation Hub (H2i) @ AIMS
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Health Innovation Hub (H2i)
Canada
Rwanda
Research & Innovation
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Needs Assessment Research Study
News & Events
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Young Innovators Reimagining Ethiopia’s Health Future
The Africa Health Collaborative at Addis Ababa University brought youthful energy and big ideas to the spotlight at its Health Startups Panel Discussion and Pitch Competition.
Health Entrepreneurship Dialogue- The Journey of a Health Entrepreneur
The Health Entrepreneurship Dialogue by Amref Health Africa brings together bold thinkers, innovators, and changemakers shaping the future of health across Africa and beyond.
Beyond the Pitch: The Stories Driving FemSTEM Africa 2025
In Kigali, six women took the stage — each carrying a story shaped by experience. From newborn survival to menstrual health and maternal care, their ventures were more than ideas; they were solutions born from lived realities.
AfyaFest 2025
Hosted by Amref Health Africa Who Can Participate Participants will include invited student-led teams and early-stage entrepreneurs from Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Ethiopia, Senegal, Zambia, and Canada—ensuring a rich mix of perspectives and experiences. The Experience Three days. One goal: Transform ideas into impact. FAQ We’re spotlighting solutions in four urgent health priorities: Maternal […]
African Women Innovating in Health Care
This year, FemSTEM Africa engaged over 200 health innovators and enthusiasts through a series of events, concluding in a pitch competition and interactions with seasoned entrepreneurs. The five-part event series was organized by the University of Toronto’s Health Innovation Hub (H2i) in partnership with Social Enterprise (SE) Ghana, Sustineri Attorneys, supported by funding from the […]
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.
Want to learn more about the HENT pillar?
Regional Lead (Health Entrepreneurship), International Research Officer
