Lafiya Innovators is a five-month incubation and acceleration program taking place in three locations throughout West Africa, Asia and Latin America. Each regional cohort combines community collaboration with specialized health and business expertise, providing entrepreneurs with a locally-rooted, globally-connected experience.

CONNECTIONS, DEVELOPMENT, VISIBILITY, OPPORTUNITIES

Participating startups are enrolled in a regional cohort hosted in Accra (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal), Medellín (Colombia) and Phnom Penh (Camboya). Early-stage startups grow their professional network, establish a basic business model, and develop a minimum viable product. Mid-stage startups further iterate and expand on their existing business model and get closer to notions such as impact measurement and global scaling.

WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM OFFER?

During the support phase????

Personal development coaching

Tailored Mentoring

Network & connections

Industry experts and connections

Masterclasses

Pitching

Who are We Looking For?

Aiming to deliver impact at scale, the program focuses in particular on technological innovations and systemic solutions targeting underserved populations, including children, adolescents, and women. Specific criteria is listed below:

  • Open to for-profit and non-profit startups.
  • Startups may be focused in any area of health and wellbeing, including but not limited to clinical care, public health, community-based health, nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Startups may also focus on core operational areas, such as health-focused logistics, fintech, or edtech solutions.
  • Solutions directly impacting a determinant of health must be able to clearly explain the health impacts of their business, and why creating connections in the health space would be strategic for their growth.
  • Solutions may be focused on both the public or private sectors and may have a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) approach.

Immersion week at Impact Hub Basel

promising startups focusing on health and wellbeing from Impact Hub Medellín, Impact Hub Accra, and Impact Hub Dakar were in Basel. They had a very intense week with speed networking, pitch exercises, a storytelling workshop with Benjamin Delahaye, developing Business Model Canvas with Aurélie Moser ???? Boosting your innovations, a Hackathon at Geneva Hub for Global Digital Health (GDHUB) a trip to the mountains and much more.

Program Details

Lafiya Innovators is a six-month incubation and acceleration program taking place in three locations throughout West Africa and Latin America. Each regional cohort will combine community collaboration with specialized health and business expertise, providing entrepreneurs with a locally-rooted, globally-connected experience.

Participating startups will be enrolled in a regional cohort hosted in Accra (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal), or Medellín (Colombia). Early-stage startups will grow their professional network, establish a basic business model, and develop a minimum viable product. Mid-stage startups will further iterate and expand on their existing business model and complete the due diligence process for fundraising.

Ready to get started? Applications open soon!

Who are We Looking For?

Aiming to deliver impact at scale, the program focuses in particular on technological innovations and systemic solutions targeting underserved populations, including children, adolescents, and women. Specific criteria is listed below:

  • Open to for-profit and non-profit startups.
  • Startups may be focused in any area of health and wellbeing, including but not limited to clinical care, public health, community-based health, nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Startups may also focus on core operational areas, such as health-focused logistics, fintech, or edtech solutions.
  • Solutions directly impacting a determinant of health must be able to clearly explain the health impacts of their business, and why creating connections in the health space would be strategic for their growth.
  • Solutions may be focused on both the public or private sectors and may have a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) approach.

Second Phase for the startups????

Field trip to Switzerland

Ongoing support from Impact Hub

Access to non-dilutive grants

By joining this program, selected startups will be able to get access to:

  • Workshops: Business workshops delivered by health industry expert and business experts
  • Coaching: Personal coach to support entrepreneurs’ personal development
  • Mentoring: Sector and industry experts for tailored expert support in health industry
  • Network & Connections: Access to Impact Hub’s national and international network, with strategic connections for partnership development
  • Field work: Advice on how to conduct regular field trips and analyze the results of testing prototype and business models directly with target beneficiaries
  • Demo Day: An opportunity for participants to showcase their business in front of investors, strategic partners and the public, to build nation and region-wide exposure and awareness
  • Funding and field trip to Switzerland: After the incubation and acceleration phases, an ecosystem tour happens in Switzerland where the winners from Dhaka, Medellin, Accra and Phnom Penh gather. In addition, each of the winning teams will receive a grant for product development.

Developed by Impact Hub Basel – and implemented in collaboration with Impact Hub Accra, Impact Hub Dakar, Impact Hub Medellín, and Impact Hub Phnom Penh – the program supports ambitious entrepreneurs throughout the venture lifecycle, from determining a basic business model to completing the due diligence process. Lafiya Innovators is financially supported by Fondation Botnar and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Global Programme Health.

Verein Impact Hub BaselHorburgstrasse 105CH-4057 Baselbasel@impacthub.net ORlafiya.innovators@impacthub.net +41 76 500 40 53