By Amina Abdul Salam An international event, dedicated to the development of start-ups, of digital transformation and innovation, was held in Paris from May 24 to 26, 2018. For the first time, this forum hosted a specific stand for African innovation, Afric@Tech, where African start-ups were able to present their solutions. As a partner of the individual's health journey around the world, Sanofi hosted African start-ups specialised in this field. In the framework of Afric@Tech, Sanofi launched last February three challenges to start-ups working on the African continent, in order to identify the 10 best start-ups which tackled the issue of revolutionising healthcare practices in Africa. Those three challenges aimed at elaborating innovative solutions to improve the access to healthcare in Africa, notably through: – Earlier diagnostics of non-communicable diseases; – A promotion of tele-medicine in order to improve access to healthcare; – An improvement of the education of health professionals in the field of chronic diseases. Jon Fairest, Director of Sanofi in Africa, declared: "We are glad to see the enthusiasm triggered by this contest, which perfectly corresponds to Sanofi's strategy of encouraging open innovation in Africa. We want to provide concrete support to entrepreneurs concerned with healthcare stakes on the continent, by contributing to the development of the most innovative local initiatives." Around 190 start-ups sent their applications. The jury studied each case according to five criteria: a concrete proof of positive results in at least one African country, the maturity of the project, the relevance of the solution, the potential of the market and of the business model, skills, expertise and experience of the team, and finally the scientific feasibility. The 10 selected start-ups were: Informed Healthcare (Egypt) Appenberg Digital Publishing (South Africa) Bisa (Ghana) GiftedMom (Cameroon) KEA Medicals (Benin) MedTrucks (Morocco) Otrac (Nigeria) Sagitarix (Kenya) Vula Mobile (South Africa) Yapill (Pan Africa) Alexis Moyrand, Chairman and Managing Director of Sanofi Egypt and Sudan, welcomed this selection andsaid: "We are very proud that Egypt is represented within this challenge. This displays the vision and talents living in Egypt, who work every day to improve the health of their fellow citizens." Selected start-ups will take part to the Sanofi in Africa Lab in Afric@Tech. They will present their projects to a jury, and will be able to make the demonstration of their solutions in front of the audience. Awarded projects will be offered the opportunity to benefit from a Sanofi financial support, training and mentoring programme in order to prepare an eventual collaboration with one of Sanofi's departments in Africa.
