The Africa Health Collaborative Health Innovation Festival 2026 has concluded, bringing together over 100 participants from nine African countries and Canada to tackle the continent's most pressing healthcare challenges.
The three-day convening, co-hosted by the Ashesi University and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with support from the Mastercard Foundation, was designed to bridge the gap between the ambitions of emerging health entrepreneurs and access to knowledge, networks and resources needed to grow their ideas.
Opening the festival, the Ashesi University Provost, Professor Angela Owusu-Ansah and the Pro Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, challenged participants to use the platform to transform promising ideas into practical solutions that improve health outcomes across Africa.
Delivering the keynote address, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Vaccine Institute, Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, outlined a compelling vision for continental health sovereignty, emphasising that true independence required African nations to strengthen local research, manufacturing and innovation ecosystems.
He noted Ghana's progress in building resilient vaccine manufacturing capacity, with the country preparing to produce its first vaccines by 2027 and stressed that the next global health crisis is a matter of when, not if.
The festival culminated in a competitive pitch showcase, with seven ventures emerging victorious and sharing $13,000 in prize money.
In the Early-Stage Category, KAARAANGE from AMREF Health Africa in Senegal secured the top prize of 3000 dollars for its artificial intelligence-powered "Smart Bin", which sorts and disinfects biomedical waste at source, addressing the risk of occupational infections among healthcare workers.
In the Idea-Stage Category, HerbIma from the Addis Ababa University took home the first prize of two thousand five hundred dollars for Iron Plus, a high-bioavailability powdered supplement formulated from indigenous Ethiopian Red Teff to combat childhood anaemia.
Other top-performing ventures included StainSmart from the University of Toronto for its automated slide-staining system, RiseBeyond Organisation for its mobile paediatric physiotherapy platform, Mosaan Health for its low-resource digital microscope and the Menstrual Empowerment Initiative for its biodegradable sanitary pads from agricultural waste.
DamuBoost from the Moi University won the People's Choice Award for its organic blood-restoring supplement.
Participants praised the festival for its practical emphasis on business skills and investor readiness.
Principles
In her closing address, the Head of the Africa Health Collaborative Secretariat, Dr Penina Lam challenged participants to embrace three principles: Presence to identify local health challenges, Partnership to leverage collective expertise and resources and Promise to scale solutions that improve health outcomes across Africa.
The Africa Health Collaborative is a multi-year partnership working to strengthen primary healthcare systems across Africa through workforce development, education, innovation and entrepreneurship.
