Founders Factory Africa (FFA) and Netcare have joined forces to design, build and scale over 35 healthcare startups across Africa.
• As part of the Netcare investment, African health startups can apply to join the Founders Factory accelerator programme, and entrepreneurs can apply for the incubator to build a new concept from scratch.
• A full-time team of over 40 digital and technical experts across Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos and London will build and grow the startups across Africa.
• Standard Bank was the first corporate to invest in Founders Factory Africa, focusing on growing fintech startups on the continent.
London/Johannesburg, Thursday, 27 June 2019, Founders Factory Africa (FFA), the Johannesburg-headquartered, corporate-backed tech accelerator and incubator, has partnered with leading South African healthcare provider, Netcare, to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to build and scale health-tech startups across Africa.
The FFA model includes its accelerator programme, which develops existing businesses through a bespoke six-month programme, whilst the incubator programme will build completely new businesses focused on addressing key health issues on the continent. FFA’s experienced and knowledgeable pool of talent will cover all aspects needed to scale its startups including product development, UX/UI, engineering, investment, business development and growth marketing.
Together FFA and Netcare will support investee companies and deliver innovative opportunities in healthcare in South Africa and in selected areas on the African continent. Netcare and Standard Bank will also work together to cross-collaborate across FinTech and HealthTech. Standard Bank was the first corporate to invest in Founders Factory Africa.
Netcare will play an integral role by providing access to hospitals, primary healthcare clinics and healthcare value chains, deep health technical expertise, data and IP to the startups. These resources and expertise will deliver a significant advantage to the businesses in which FFA, including Netcare, select to invest and scale. Netcare will also have the opportunity to continue investing in the new health businesses once their value propositions are proven.
Richard Friedland, CEO of the Netcare Group, says: “This exciting initiative enables us to stimulate healthcare innovation and development in South Africa and across the rest of the continent. We are proud to be joining Founders Factory Africa in creating a support system for entrepreneurs which will help them grow innovative healthcare businesses and will provide value to people across Africa, while also unlocking future investment opportunities for Netcare.”
Roo Rogers, Co-Founder and CEO of Founders Factory Africa, says: “We are incredibly proud to partner with Netcare. Together we will unlock groundbreaking opportunities in accessing affordable healthcare. We will deliver digitised healthcare solutions and contribute to spearheading Africa’s innovation in healthcare. The time, the opportunity, and the need is now, for driving Africa’s health-tech to improve the lives of millions of people.”
In addition to the corporate and hands-on support from FFA, the participating startups will have access to global capital, talent and knowledge transfer through the Founders’ group that includes Founder Factory in the United Kingdom, and a network of world class entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and successful startups across Africa, Europe, the UK and the United States.
