Today, during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C., the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced the Transform Health Fund for healthcare solutions in sub-Saharan Africa, a new primarily women-led collaboration. USAID and DFC plan to provide $1 million in catalytic grant funding and $10 million in equity financing, respectively, to the fund to support locally-led supply chain transformation, innovative care delivery, and digital solutions to secure Africa’s healthcare future. With these investments, the Fund announced total approved commitments is now $50 million.
Africa is home to 16 percent of the global population and 23 percent of the global burden of disease. Yet, just one percent of global impact investment capital goes towards healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa. The Transform Health Fund brings together government, donor, and commercial investors to help reduce that health financing gap and scale innovative solutions to Africa’s greatest healthcare challenges.
Public and private sector partners will come together under AfricInvest’s management to finance enterprises that improve health system resilience and pandemic preparedness across the continent. USAID also plans to provide technical assistance to a subset of the Fund’s investee companies through its flagship public-private partnership, Project Last Mile.
A key objective of the Transform Health Fund is to build a resilient healthcare ecosystem by investing in and scaling locally-led innovations that improve access to quality and affordable care and supplies for the most vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Recognizing the importance of women’s leadership in improving health security across Africa, the Fund will prioritize supporting women’s health services and investing in women-owned and led businesses. AfricInvest is also a signatory of the 2X Challenge, committed to smart gender practices in recruitment, progression, promotion, and succession planning.