African Pre-Seed Podcast Episode #03 Part 1: Can healthtech startups cover the gaps in Africa’s healthcare systems?

The African Pre-seed Podcast

Joining co-hosts Hope and Rajiv for this pertinent two-part healthtech-themed edition of The African Pre-seed Podcast is the Co-founder and CEO of Nigerian HealthTech startup Reliance Health, Femi Kuti.

Reliance Health's recent $40 million in Series B funding (the largest of its kind in Africa's healthtech scene) underscored a growing investor appetite for African startups addressing gaps in the continent's healthcare industry. In this insight-rich episode, Femi factors in on the extent to which HealthTech plays can move the needle on covering the gaps in Africa's healthcare systems and how founders in the sector should consider servicing key market drivers.

What to look forward to in this podcast:

• What are (the most problematic) oversimplifications typically made about African healthcare systems, i.e. a) by Founders keen to enter the space and b) by investors looking to back it? [3:15]
• What are the most commonly misunderstood dynamics of running a successful healthtech startup in Africa? [5:53]
• What commercial growth story did Femi sell General Atlantic and the other investors who participated in Reliance Health’s Series B? [6:55]
• What are some of the most challenging business problems Reliance Health has had to solve so far, i.e. issues that might have sunk the business if they hadn’t figured things out? [21:07]

CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:

• Connect with Femi Kuti on Twitter and Linkedin.
• Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin.
• Connect with Rajiv Daya on Twitter and Linkedin.

Did you learn something new? We want to know what part of this discussion stood out for you. Let us know by dropping a note at [e-mail].

USEFUL RESOURCES:

BLOG: Closing the gap in African Healthcare? by Shilifa Gupta (VestedWorld)

OP-ED: The Necessary rise of Africa’s Health Tech by Stephen Ogweno (Project Syndicate)

ARTICLE: Can healthcare startups solve Nigeria’s health problems by Aisha Salaudeen (Stears Business)

REPORT: Strategies for effective healthcare for Africa in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by Landry Signé (Africa Growth Initiative)

VIDEO: How technology is transforming Africa’s healthcare sector by CNBC Africa

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