Founder and CEO of Mobihealth International, Dr Funmi Adewara, has been selected, along with other 39 digital health startup founders, to attend the 2024 Timbuktoo HealthTech bootcamp programme in Rwanda.
The digital health professional made this known on Monday, through a communique seen by Tribune Online, while commenting on the bootcamp held on Sunday in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
The HealthTech Startup Accelerator Programme, an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation, is a pan-African initiative focused on transforming the healthcare sector across Africa in areas such as telemedicine, healthcare logistics, diagnostics, and mobile health.
According to the organisers of the Timbuktoo HealthTech bootcamp, Adewara was selected for the programme because of her “vision, hard work and commitment to driving impactful innovation.”
The organiser added, “We are thrilled to work with you and look forward to supporting you on your journey towards growth and success.”
Dr Adewara stated that she was thrilled to receive the news that she made it to the top 40 from among 957 startup founders who applied for the 2024 Timbuktoo HealthTech bootcamp programme.
“Being selected is a huge milestone and a testament to the power of tenacity, resilience, faith, collaboration, innovation and the collective effort to tackle Africa’s most pressing challenges,” she said.
She added, “We could not be more proud of our vision at Mobihealth International to drive innovative health solutions that have the potential to transform lives across Africa.”
She thanked Mrs Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP’s Regional Director, and her team for their unwavering support in making the programme possible. She thanked the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, for his hospitality and support to African entrepreneurs.
The Mobihealth boss appreciated the passion and dedication of Rwanda President Kagame for the HealthTech Hub ─ a hub she described as a dedicated haven for health tech entrepreneurs to innovate and flourish.
“I look forward to leveraging this hub as we expand our integrated telehealth solutions across other markets and contributing to the success of the Timbuktoo Accelerator. I can’t wait to see the breakthroughs that will come from this exciting journey,” she said.
In the course of the programme in Kigali, Rwanda, Adewara attended the youth Konnekt Africa summit, where she networked with industry leaders and engaged fellow innovators.
At the event, Rwanda President Paul Kagame, and the UNDP Assistance Secretary-General and Regional for Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa, spoke on the essence of the programme and its benefits to the African healthcare sector.
According to UNDP, Africa’s HealthTech landscape presents both challenges and opportunities, with a projected $11 billion digital health market by 2025.
“To address this critical healthcare gap, there is an urgent need to establish a robust HealthTech Hub,” UNDP stated.
The programme hopes to support startups that are tech-enabled, contribute towards the SDGs, innovative and unique, demonstrate high scalability, technically feasibility and defensibly positioned, among others.
Some of the benefits associated with the Timbuktoo HealthTech bootcamp programme include equity-free funding of up to $100,000 USD, access to investor networks, mentorship from industry experts and entrepreneurs, resources and support to accelerate growth an impact, access to networks and agencies within the larger UN system, among others.
Get real-time news updates from Tribune Online! Follow us on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive stories and interviews, and much more.
Join our WhatsApp Channel now