Nigeria’s Soso Care, Natal Care and MobilHealth Selected to Pitch at Sanofi’s AfricaTech Challenge

Following the cancellation of Vivatech 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Sanofi has unveiled the startups selected for its healthtech competition, AfricaTech.

Sanofi is a multinational pharmaceutical company that has organized the AfricaTech challenge as part of activities at the VivaTech conference in Paris for 3 years consecutively. This year, the challenge received applications from 268 startups across 34 countries on the continent.

The challenge is split into 4 categories, and 11 startups were selected. Three of those startups are Nigerian.

MobiHealth International (Smart Logistics Category)

MobiHealth, launched in March 2019 by Funmi Adewara, operates in both Nigeria and London. The startup uses tech to reduce the pressure of demand for healthcare facilities. The aim is to effectively manage the shortage of doctors.

Through its telemedical platform, the startup provides consultation with doctors, prescriptions, home delivery of medications, ordering of diagnostic tests, and referral to hospitals. 

MobiHealth is competing with India’s Doctor 2 Africa in the Smart Logistics category.

Soso Care (Health Financing Category)

Established by Nonso Opurum, Soso Care helps people access medical care and insurance in 1170 hospitals in Nigeria. Recently, the startup launched an initiative that allowed people in Abuja to collect recyclable plastics and exchange them for health insurance plans.

Soso Care will be competing with Kenya’s MamaPrime and JokkoSante from Senegal in the health financing category.

Natal Cares (Maternal and Neonatal Care Category)

Natal Cares provides comprehensive support for pregnant mothers and infants from an early stage to prevent child mortality. The startup which was founded by Uche Udekwe uses mobile technology and other low-cost innovative solutions to ensure pregnant women and infants are cared for, particularly at vulnerable times.

The startup focuses on rural underserved communities and IDP camps in Nigeria, among other places. In the maternal and neonatal category, Natal Cares will be competing with Uganda’s Teheca and the University Agency Innovation from Cameroon.

The competition will take place online on June 11, with each startup pitching its solution to a panel of judges and viewers. To be a part of the online event, you can register here.

Prior to the cancellation of VivaTech 2020, the winners of each category were to receive a platform to show the solution at VivaTech, tickets to the conference and collaboration reward to scale up the products.