Tech in Africa
Villgro, the Nairobi-based incubator, and startup received $150,000 in grant funding. The funding was spread across East African startups that had come up with innovations and technologies siding in the war against the pandemic. The funds were split among firms with inventive ways of testing, monitoring, and managing the problem.
Villgro Kenya was launched in 2017 and operates as an early-stage incubator for businesses in the health and life sciences sectors in East Africa. Last month, news of Villgro’s call for frontline solutions and innovations could help societies maneuver through the COVID-19 pandemic. The incubator has settled on 12 startups that are to split the 150K grant among themselves.
The funding companies shortlisted for the grant are KEMRI with their diagnostic kit, telemedicine platform E-Net, Enzi Health the hail-a clinic service, Neopenda the remote patient monitoring system, Maisha technologies EA, manufacturing protecting 3D printed shields, Medixus a peer learning platform that can be used by doctors, Simbona Africa with their UVC light treatment technology, Kijenzi doing 3D printing, among others.
The funds will help in development, scaling, and ensuring production reaches local and international demand levels. That way more people can gain access to affordable healthcare during this pandemic. Villgro Kenya will ensure the workers get access to the right products and services that can assist the frontline workers.
They have also directed their funding to three local ventilator manufacture namely, ventilators Africa, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology and Samuel Kairu
