
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.
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