By Bonface Orucho
With government health budgets under strain and international funding shrinking, private healthtech startups are stepping in to bridge critical gaps in women’s healthcare across Africa.
From AI-powered cancer diagnostics to maternal care platforms, women-focused healthtechs are transforming healthcare access on the continent, filling the void left by limited public investment.
Claudine Lee, a general practitioner and diabetologist in Hilton, South Africa, highlights that one of the most pressing needs in women’s health is better access to speculum examinations — essential for accurate and timely diagnosis of STIs and conducting critical pap smears.
While she believes these issues are best addressed through personalized, hands-on care, tech solutions can play a valuable supporting role in enhancing access and application.
“For example, could AI-assisted image recognition help non-specialist providers detect cervical cancer signs earlier? The slides or liquid-based cytology reading could possibly be done by a robot or AI-aided,” she noted.
This aligns with the growing number of startups, like Tanzania’s Iwinga Smart Solutions Ltd., leveraging AI to analyse samples and detect cervical cancer cells.
Other areas of women’s healthcare, such as post-birth monitoring and neonatal care, are increasingly benefiting from tech-driven solutions.
Nura Izath, the founder of NeoSave Technologies, a Ugandan healthtech focused on neonatal care, highlights the threat conditions such as neonatal hypothermia pose to infants at birth.
“Neonatal hypothermia can be severe, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and long-term health challenges,” she explained in a past post on their website.
NeoSave, a Ugandan healthtech startup, was one of seven African finalists in the 2024 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), a global accelerator for hardware-driven social innovations. It has also earned recognition beyond ISHOW, securing second place in the Africa Young Innovators for Health Award.
“By focusing on responsive healthcare interventions, we aim to provide every newborn with a healthy and promising future,” Izath explained.
NeoSave is one of a growing wave of private investors reshaping Africa’s healthcare landscape. Healthtech startups are driving a transformation by tackling critical challenges affecting women’s healthcare access, from maternal and reproductive health to digital pharmacies and cutting-edge diagnostic tools.
According to Impact Ventures, several women-focused healthtech startups are making strides in Africa. Examples include Rwanda’s Kosmotive, which provides affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads.
Global investors are also increasingly recognising the critical role of tech-driven healthtech startups in expanding access to healthcare, particularly for women. As a result, they are prioritising investments in solutions tailored to women’s health needs.
One initiative backing such innovation is Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African program supporting healthtech startups. Since its launch, i3 has backed 60 startups across 16 African countries, nearly half of them women-led.
Its portfolio shows it has supported ventures working on solutions in menstrual health, cancer detection, and maternal care—key areas where healthcare gaps disproportionately affect women.
The need for increased private sector involvement in health solutions provisions in Africa is critical.
Despite numerous policy commitments by African governments to bolster healthcare funding—including the 2001 Abuja Declaration, which set a target of allocating 15% of national budgets to healthcare—public sector investment remains insufficient.
A 2020 report in Africa Renewal, a digital magazine of the UN, found that only a handful of African countries had reached this target as of 2018. Most were spending between US$8 and US$129 per capita on healthcare, compared to more than US$4,000 per capita in high-income nations.
Women bear the brunt of these shortfalls. A 2025 collaborative report by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum reveals that women live 25% more of their lives in poor health compared to men.
With limited public sector funding, the private sector has emerged as a crucial player in financing and delivering healthcare solutions. According to the Coalition for Women’s Health in Africa (COWHA), around 30% of childbirths in Africa occur within private healthcare facilities.
Private investments also play a key role in scaling innovative healthcare delivery models that expand access to critical services for women.
Uchenna Igbokwe, CEO of the Solina Centre for International Development & Research (SCIDaR), emphasises the role of private investment in scaling African-led healthcare enterprises. “With the right resources, African-led companies can scale commercially while reaching underserved communities and creating jobs,” he explains.
One example is the rise of digital health platforms, which are improving access to reproductive health services. Companies like mPharma have developed digital pharmacy networks that help women access essential medicines more affordably, while telemedicine services are closing healthcare access gaps, especially in rural areas.
Kenyan healthtech startup Malaica is also tackling maternal mortality with a hybrid program that provides expectant mothers with a personalized, holistic care journey. Through a platform, the startup connects expectant mothers to midwives and a supportive community, ensuring continuous guidance and support throughout pregnancy until delivery.
Beyond service delivery, private firms are advancing healthcare through technology and financing. Notably, healthtech startups are deploying AI-driven diagnostics for cervical cancer screening, developing affordable maternal health insurance, and improving access to family planning tools.
While in Africa specifically, data indicate that only about 10% of companies are founded solely by a woman or women, and very few of them have received any form of grant funding, the tide is slowly changing with some of these innovative solutions on women’s health being women-led.
A significant shift occurred in 2023 when funding for women-led startups in Africa—including those beyond healthtech—soared by nearly 2,000%, rising from US$2 million in 2022 to US$52 million in 2023, according to Salient Advisory and Weetracker.
A 2019 report by McKinsey & Company showed that with an increased focus on the advancement of women’s health, the continent could add US$316 billion to its GDP by 2025.
bird story agency
Faced with strained government health budgets and decreasing international funding, private healthtech startups are emerging as critical players in women's healthcare across Africa. These startups utilize innovative technologies like AI for cancer diagnostics and digital platforms for maternal care, addressing gaps left by limited public investment. Notable contributions include Uganda's NeoSave Technologies, which addresses neonatal hypothermia, and Irvine Smart Solutions in Tanzania, focusing on cervical cancer detection through AI.
With insufficient public healthcare investment, private entities have taken a central role in enhancing healthcare access for women. Global investors recognize the importance of such tech-driven solutions, backing initiatives like Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) that support numerous women-focused healthtech startups. Despite the historic funding challenges faced by women-led companies in Africa, recent trends show significant growth in funding for these innovators, potentially contributing US$316 billion to Africa's GDP by 2025.
Overall, the involvement of private healthtech startups is transforming women's healthcare across Africa by leveraging technology to address crucial health challenges, thereby expanding healthcare access to underserved populations and contributing to economic growth.
