Healthtech: 3 Moroccan startups win Gates Foundation funding

Moroccan companies DeepEcho, Medevice and Sorbus are among the winners of grants awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support African health innovators seeking to optimize supply chains, improve access to medicines and advance towards universal health coverage.

Twenty-seven other healthtech start-ups have been selected to benefit from a $7 million program (i3) backed by the Gates Foundation, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), AmerisourceBergen, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and WHO Regional Office for Africa.

According to press reports, the selected start-ups from 14 African countries will receive a $50,000 grant and support for partnerships with major donors and pharmaceutical groups.

Operating in early and growth stages, the picked-up companies are delivering novel solutions for device and medicines distribution, stock management and financing, authentication, traceability, and medical waste management. Through their innovations, they demonstrate that African-built solutions help transform access to health products.

Moroccan DeepEcho is the youngest winning company. It was set up in 2022. It helps reduce infant and maternal mortality rates by leveraging artificial intelligence for ultrasound imaging and prenatal diagnosis.

Medevice was founded in 2021 and has developed three medical devices that support and improve the diagnoses made by practitioners whether for monitoring vital signs, analyzing Covid-19 results, or interpreting TB test results with the naked eye.

Sobrus was founded in 2012 and relies on cloud solutions to connect pharmacies to wholesaler-dispatchers and laboratories through a digital platform.