Boehringer Ingelheim’s Social Engagement Fund has invested in Dawa Mkononi, a member of the latest i3 cohort, Kasha, and Reach52 to drive the future of pharmacy across Africa.
The three were part of the 15 innovators at the i3’s A2M accelerator working closely with innovators building the future of pharmacy care in Africa and completing more than 110 bespoke introductions to customers and investors, generating 15 partnerships with a potential value exceeding $20 million.
The other innovators include Chefaa, Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Sproxil and Zuri Health.
“We are delighted to invest in three additional startups that deliver a strong impact to communities across Africa,” says Dr. Ilka Wicke, Head of Sustainability Social. “These partnerships reflect our belief that sustainable healthcare solutions are best built through collaboration – with local innovators who understand the needs on the ground and with global partners who can help scale their vision. Together, we’re making meaningful progress toward our goal of improving the lives of 50 million people by 2030. We’re thrilled to celebrate progress with our partners who share this vision across the i3 program.”
 At an unprecedented pace of more than one advancing partnership per week, i3 continues to deliver best-in-class growth advisory support to African healthtech innovators.
This year’s A2M brought together 15 leading African healthtech startups, whose innovations already power more than 66,000 healthcare providers across 12 African countries and are on track to reach over 167,000 providers by 2028, demonstrating a powerful channel for improving patient access and strengthening health systems.
A2M also convened 41 prominent investors, global and regional pharmaceutical manufacturers, donors, development finance institutions, and multilateral agencies—including Grand Challenges Canada, IFC, World Bank, Pfizer, Causal Foundry, Proqurable, Federal Ministry of Health, PVAC, and i3’s sponsors—who are all working to accelerate scalable innovations, create jobs, and expand healthcare impact across the continent.