The Africa Health Ventures Podcast

Bente Krogmann of mTek (Acquired by Bolttech)

When Bente Krogmann moved to Africa over a decade ago, a cab ride through Rwanda sparked a question she couldn’t shake: what happens to people here when they get sick? That question became mTek, an insurance platform that embeds protection into the everyday transactions Africans are already making — and last year, it achieved a landmark exit through its acquisition by the global insurtech unicorn bolttech. In this episode, Bente pulls back the curtain on how she pulled it off — and why she’s just getting started.About mTekmTek is a leading Kenya-based insurtech reshaping East Africa’s insurance ecosystem through digital innovation. Established in 2019, mTek provides a fully digital, end-to-end distribution platform that seamlessly integrates general and life insurance products with both B2C and B2B2C functionality. The platform empowers more than 350,000 customers in Kenya alone to compare quotes from over 45 insurers and purchase coverage either upfront or through flexible installment plans.About bolttechbolttech is a global insurtech with a mission to build the world’s leading, technology-enabled ecosystem for protection and insurance. bolttech serves customers in 39 markets across Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. With a full suite of digital and data-driven capabilities, bolttech powers connections between insurers, distributors, and customers to make it easier and more efficient to buy and sell insurance and protection products.In This Episode* (00m37s) Why healthcare financing in Africa needs a new approachWe begin with an exploration of the challenges of health financing and the unique opportunity of expanding mass-market health insurance uptake.* (04m23s) Meet Bente Krogmann and the rise of mTekBente shares her journey from Germany to East Africa, how she built and exited a car wash company before mTek, and how her experiences in Rwanda inspired her to build a company focused on expanding access to protection and insurance.* (07m20s) Why mTek pivoted from direct sales to embedded insurancemTek shifted from direct-to-consumer insurance toward embedded distribution through pharmacies, travel platforms, retailers, and other trusted partners.* (15m31s) Inside bolttech’s acquisition of mTekBente unpacks how the relationship with bolttech began, what global investors see in Africa’s future, and the realities of navigating an international startup acquisition.* (24m42s) Selling Africa to global investors and corporatesA candid discussion about market timing, cultural fit, scaling African startups inside global corporations, and why founders often need to become advocates for Africa on the international stage.* (33m52s) Lessons for founders on resilience, fundraising, and international marketsBente reflects on the emotional highs and lows of entrepreneurship, investor alignment, preparing for exits, and why founders should treat entrepreneurship as “a game you want to win.”* (39m05s) Founder to Watch: Caitlin Dolkart of Flare Emergency Response and Rescue.coIf you enjoyed this conversation about healthcare access at the last mile, check out our related interviews: Ikpeme Neto of WellaHealth and Femi Kuti of Reliance Health.Key Quotes“If you want to be the most global insurtech in the world, you have to have a play on Africa.”“You need to see [entrepreneurship] as a game you want to win.”“It’s not about becoming an insurance company. It’s about using technology to increase protection.”Topics Discussed* How embedded insurance could unlock access and protection in Africa* How Bente navigated bolttech’s acquisition of mTek* Why global investors and corporates are bullish on Africa* Scaling insurtech businesses in African markets* Founder leadership, resilience, and emotional stability* Africa as a global growth opportunityConnect with Africa Health VenturesAfrica Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world.👍 Share your reaction to this podcast on LinkedIn📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, events, and opportunities relevant to healthcare ventures in Africa🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

Joanna Bichsel of Kasha

Mar 1100:41:37Summary ready

What does it really take to deliver health and household products to the last mile at scale?Joanna Bichsel is the Founder and CEO of Kasha, the leading digital commerce and last-mile delivery platform in Africa focused on health products and household goods. In this episode, Joanna shares how Kasha was born and scaled across nine countries to deliver over 110 million products. We unpack the tactics that have allowed her to scale her impact, including the varied and sometimes unlikely partnerships she’s needed to balance. Tune in to hear how this technology startup partnered with the government of Rwanda to create access to emergency contraceptives for young women, and how Kasha is working with global life sciences companies like Roche to help more women access breast cancer treatment. This episode features insights from Jörg-Michael Rupp, who oversees Roche’s work in over 100 countries. Roche is an industry leader and global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives around the world. This episode was recorded live at Africa Tech Festival 2025 in Cape Town, one of the continent’s largest gatherings of industry leaders, startups, and investors.In This Episode(00m54s) Meet Joanna and Kasha. Joanna Bichsel is the founder and CEO of Kasha, a fast-growing health access platform transforming how medicines and essential goods reach people across Africa. (06m56s) Origin Story. Joanna shares the unexpected path that led her from Microsoft Corporation and the Gates Foundation to launching a startup in Rwanda. (12m11s) Early Fundraising is a Struggle. Joanna recounts the brutal early months of trying to raise capital as a first-time female founder in Africa—and the mindset she needed to keep moving forward even when quitting would have been so much easier.(17m03s) Partnering with the Government of Rwanda to Create Access to Emergency Contraception. Scaling healthcare requires more than technology—it demands collaboration with governments and policymakers. Joanna explains how Kasha, as a tech startup, is well-suited to managing real-time data and on-the-ground insights. This is the value they were uniquely positioned to provide the Government of Rwanda in order to inform national policy to expand access to emergency contraception for young women.(21m53s) Partnering with the Global Pharmaceutical Company Roche. Joanna unpacks Kasha’s partnership with Roche and how collaboration with industry-leading pharmaceutical companies can dramatically improve access to life-saving medicines. Together, Kasha and Roche have developed innovative financing and distribution models to make breast cancer treatments more affordable for patients.(28m54s) The Problem with Impact Investors. Joanna shares her candid and controversial perspective on impact investing in Africa. She challenges investors not only to build scalable businesses but also to take a long hard look at the double burden forced upon social enterprises by unrealistic impact metrics.(34m45s) Perspectives from Roche. Jörg-Michael Rupp, who oversees Roche’s work in over 100 countries and is one of Kasha’s partners, elaborates on why solving healthcare access requires collaboration across industries. No single organization can solve healthcare challenges alone, but together we can dramatically expand patient access to treatment.(36m57s) Stronger together. Breast cancer advocate Dr. Carol Benn highlights the real-world complexity of tackling women’s health challenges. She explains why meaningful progress depends on honest collaboration between governments, clinicians, innovators, and the private sector—even and especially when the roadmap ahead is unclear.If you enjoyed this conversation about healthcare access at the last mile, check out these related podcasts: The Medicine Supply Chain in Africa and The Future of Pharmacy with Remedial Health.Key Quotes“Success in business in Africa is staying alive and continuing to go on.” — Joanna Bichsel“If we put the patient in the center of the solution and collaborate, we can solve these challenges together.” — Jörg-Michael Rupp“Impact doesn’t come from ignoring the market. It comes from understanding it.” — Rowena LukConnect with Africa Health VenturesAfrica Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world. 👍 Share your reaction to this podcast on LinkedIn📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, events, and opportunities relevant to healthcare ventures in Africa🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

How The Fight Against Breast Cancer is Changing in Africa

Feb 1100:37:54Summary ready

Only half of the women diagnosed with breast cancer in Africa today survive. Why? This episode uncovers how women are dismissed or diagnosed too late—and follows the clinicians and innovators determined to do better. This is a story of fear and misinformation; but this is also a story of resilience and the changemakers refusing to accept the status quo.In today’s episode, we’ll hear from Dr. Carol Benn, an industry-leading surgeon and advocate setting the standard for breast cancer care in South Africa; Dr. Kathryn Malherbe, the founder of Medsol AI using AI to detect breast cancer earlier; Thom Renwick, Head of Roche South Africa; and Maturin Tchoumi, Head of Roche, Africa.In This Episode* (3m33s) Dr. Carol Benn is challenging the old guard of breast cancer care. A trauma surgeon turned breast cancer pioneer, Dr. Benn recounts how she pushed back against outdated medical norms in South Africa — empowering women to stand up for their own bodies.* (8m23s) Fear holds us back. Why do so many women delay screening? From mistrust of healthcare systems to myths about age and pain, Dr. Benn explains how fear — not ignorance — often stands between women and early detection.* (10m38s) 65% of people with breast cancer have no symptoms. Many women diagnosed do everything “right.” Dr. Benn dismantles how the demographics of breast cancer are changing.* (11m24s) Thom Renwick of Roche South Africa unpacks the hidden economic toll of breast cancer. Beyond the human tragedy, late-stage breast cancer is draining African economies — with billions lost in productivity and families destabilized when women in their prime are forced out of the workforce.* (13m59s) Maturin Tchoumi, Head of Roche in Africa, believes technology is a force multiplier. From mobile banking to mobile health, Maturin argues that digital innovation can unlock massive efficiency gains in healthcare.* (15m25s) Dr. Kathryn Malherbe of Medsol AI became frustrated after seeing too many young women arrive too late for treatment. A mammographer turned entrepreneur, she built an AI-powered ultrasound tool that’s over 90% accurate and dramatically more affordable — bringing screening closer to the communities that need it most* (23m58s) “You have to believe in what you’re doing.” Facing regulatory hurdles, funding gaps, and institutional resistance, Dr. Malherbe reflects on the conviction required to build in African healthcare — and why unwavering belief is sometimes a founder’s greatest asset.Show Notes* Medsol AI, founded by Dr. Kathryn Malherbe, is building AI-powered ultrasound diagnostics to expand breast cancer screening at the primary care level. Early studies show the solution is over 90% accurate and dramatically more affordable.* The Socioeconomic Burden of HER2+ Breast Cancer in Africa: A report by the WifOR Institute examining seven African countries estimated $10.3 billion in productivity losses over five years due to late diagnosis and under-treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.* The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer is an excellent recounting of the modern history of cancer, including breast cancer. Among other topics, it lays bare the devastating effects of radical mastectomy on breast cancer patients, and how rapidly science and technology to tackle cancers have evolved in the past few decades.* The Africa Breast Cancer Council is a pan-African coalition chaired by Dr. Carol Benn, working to improve breast cancer awareness, policy alignment, and standards of care across the continent.* Netcare Milpark Breast Care Centre of Excellence is one of only three breast care centres outside the United States accredited under the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), setting a global benchmark for multidisciplinary breast care.* Africa Tech Festival – Healthcare Track: This episode was recorded live at Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, where a dedicated healthcare innovation track highlighted the intersection of digital transformation and public health.Connect with Africa Health VenturesAfrica Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world.👍 Share your reaction to this podcast on LinkedIn📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, events, and opportunities relevant to healthcare ventures in Africa🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

HearX: How a South African Startup took the Global Stage

Jun 500:28:16Summary ready

From a university in South Africa to the shelves of Walgreens in the United States, the South African tech company HearX has risen to be a global industry leader in hearing health and announced a $100M capital raise earlier this year. In this episode, Rowena Luk sits down with CEO Nic Klopper and CSO Seline van der Wat to unpack how HearX (now LXE Hearing) is shaking up a 100-year-old industry to lower costs and improve access to care around the world. Tune in for a story of grit, timing, and bold bets that paid off.In This Episode* (2m48s) How HearX evolved from a research project at the University of Pretoria to a high-growth startup* (4m34s) Crisis of faith: can we do more than just send children into a broken healthcare system?* (8m13s) Landing the partnership with Bose, the global industry leader in consumer audio* (11m20s) Breakthrough: expanding our reach from South Africa to the world* (16m08s) “We went up against the industry giants, larger bank accounts, big law firms… and we won.”* (19m32s) The year we almost didn’t make it* (22m47s) Rapid-fire questions and advice for foundersConnect with Africa Health VenturesAfrica Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world. 👍 Share your reaction to this podcast on LinkedIn📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, events, and opportunities about healthcare ventures in Africa🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding🤝🏻 Invest with usShow Notes* Nic Klopper is CEO at LXE Hearing (previously HearX & Lexie Hearing). His experience ranges from being an avid start-up investor to founding 7 successful businesses and exiting 3 of them to date. As the co-founder and CEO of HearX Group and Lexie Hearing, Nic has been the driving force behind a transformative shift in the hearing health industry. He has guided the company from early-stage healthtech startup to a multimillion-dollar enterprise with products now available in 38 countries. * Seline van der Wat is the Chief Strategy Officer at LXE Hearing (previously hearX & Lexie Hearing). Under her leadership, the company was recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential Companies in the World list in 2023, for hearX’s groundbreaking work in hearing health accessibility. Seline has transformed companies into first-to-market and best-in-market giants through her strategic and organizational development expertise. * Vula Mobile, founded by Dr. William Mapham, was an early collaborator with HearX. In 2018 with support from the Google Impact Challenge, Vula Mobile and HearX partnered to screen children in Gauteng for vision and hearing. This led to the epiphany at HearX that they needed to do more than just screen for hearing loss; they needed to play a direct role in increasing access to hearing aids. * Seline’s shoutout goes to Ilara Health and its CEO Emilian Poppa for Ilara’s work to improve financing and access to diagnostics at scale for clinics across Kenya. * Seline’s second shoutout goes to Jonathan Berkowitz at MotionsAds, which provides additional income to drivers in the gig economy (like Uber Eats) through advertising. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

Myths and Realities of Investing in Africa

Mar 10, 202500:32:06Summary ready

Today we tackle head-on the myths and misconceptions of investing in Africa. We invite two of the leading venture capitalists in Africa to field tough questions from a room full of experienced international investors. Our guests are Bongani Sithole, CEO of 54 Collective and the most active investor in Africa, and Lelemba Phiri, Founding Partner of ATG Samata, a leading African gender lens investor.This conversation was recorded live in November of 2024 at a Toniic gathering in Cape Town, South Africa. Toniic is a global community of individual, family office, and foundation asset owners seeking deeper impact with their investments and their lives.In This Episode* (2m46s) What is the Africa opportunity?* (8m19s) Myth: “Africa is a single market.” What does it mean to invest across 54 countries?* (13m28s) Myth: “There are no exits in Africa.” How do investors make a profit from putting capital into African businesses?* (18m57s) Myth: “Political instability makes it impossible to invest in Africa.” What trade agreements, regulatory environment, and political context enable private investments to succeed in Africa?* (22m15s) Myth: “There is a shortage of talent in Africa.” Where can investors find world-class founders?* (28m43s) How can you get started investing in Africa?* (30m12s) RecapConnect with Africa Health VenturesAfrica Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world. 👍 Share your reaction to this podcast on LinkedIn📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, events, and opportunities about healthcare ventures in Africa🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding🤝🏻 Invest with usShow NotesAbout Bongani Sithole and 54 CollectiveAs Chief Executive Officer of 54 Collective, Bongani Sithole is a tech-entrepreneur who over the last 18 years has built 3 technology businesses from the ground up. Before joining 54 Collective, Bongani’s last company — Black Beard — built tech businesses on behalf of corporates. As CEO, Bongani leads the early-stage investor as it seeks to invest in, collaborate, and support founders to go beyond borders and make a discernible impact through commercially-orientated innovations that can sustainably improve the lives of the continent’s people. 54 Collective is Africa’s most active, hands-on, early stage venture capital investor.About Lelemba Phiri and ATG SamataLelemba is a Co-founder and Partner at ATG Samata, a gender-lens venture capital firm that is focused on investing in women-led businesses and gender diverse teams in key markets in Southern, East and West Africa. She is a seasoned development finance expert with 18+ years of experience working in both public and private sector, across 10 markets+. This includes having been a key part of scaling a Fintech start-up from one market to five before moving from entrepreneurship into venture capital. She is an expert in gender-lens investing, innovative finance, and entrepreneurship development with a key focus on advancing women.About Christophe de Montille and Beyond Capital VenturesChristophe de Montille is a Principal at Beyond Capital Ventures, a multi-asset firm investing in Seed to Series A companies across India and Africa in need-to-have sectors such as financial services, healthcare and climate. Prior to joining Beyond Capital, Christophe worked for a decade as a management consultant leading large tech transformations for corporate and federal clients. In addition to his work at Beyond Capital, Christophe led transaction advisory work for over 30 deals in the Global South and mobilizing over $54M in capital.About ToniicToniic is a global community of private asset owners seeking to steward wealth and use influence to enable a thriving world. Its members — individuals, family offices and foundations from more than 25 countries — are active impact investors and philanthropists, for whom Toniic provides education, investment opportunities, impact support, events, and community. Toniic also seeks to build the field of deep impact investing, moving money and mindsets and leading by example. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

InstaDeep: The African Exit

Nov 26, 202400:20:04Summary ready

InstaDeep was the largest acquisition on the African continent last year, sold for half a billion euro to the pharmaceutical company BioNTech. We speak today with Karim Beguir, InstaDeep’s Founder and CEO.This is a healthcare success story at a time when the vast majority of investments in Africa are in fintech. It's also a deeptech victory at a time when most of the world is skeptical about whether deeptech can even be built, let alone scaled, in Africa. So how did a math geek from Tunisia bootstrap a company that captured the hearts and minds of a continent? Tune in to find out.Connect with Africa Health Ventures📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, events, and opportunities about healthcare ventures in Africa🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts👍 Follow us on LinkedIn🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding🤝🏻 Invest with usIn This Episode* (3m16s) Start with passion. Passion will carry you through the years when you don’t know whether it’s going to work out or not. Passion will draw others to back you and keep on backing you, even when times are tough. * (6m18s) Engineering exits is a delicate balancing act between short and long-term goals. * (7m19s) How to navigate the hard balance between short-term profitability and long-term ambition? It took InstaDeep 5 years to build DeepPCB, which is now the best in the world in its product class.* (9m08s) Deliver 10X value in your partnerships. This will harden the relationships that lead to clients, to investors, and to exits.* (10m47s) How do we build investable talent in Africa? The journey to unlock African talent begins with the founder. Make yourself a world-class expert; pursue your vision with passion; and create the environment to grow and attract industry-leading talent.* (15m04s) AI, biotech, and the future: we are today with Biology AI where LLMs were in 2020. The golden age of biology AI and biotech is just beginning. African founders have an unparalleled opportunity to build the data assets of the future. * (18m15s) Do not limit yourself. Many African founders suffer from a failure of ambition. Think global from day one. Show Notes* InstaDeep: The Early Days: this article from Rest of World covers some of the early ventures and misadventures of Karim Beguir* Born in Tatouine: from a remote city in Tunisia, how Karim rose to the global stage* Google’s 2014 acquisition of DeepMind was an early inspiration to Karim in founding InstaDeep* BioNTech announced its acquisition of InstaDeep in 2023* Nucleotide Transformer is InstaDeep’s industry-leading genomics Language Models. In 2023 they released these models open-source to HuggingFace Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

AI Tools, Tips, and Trends for Public Health

Jul 3, 202400:38:42Summary ready

In our fourth and final episode of the AI for Health Series, we take a peek under the hood of the maternal health chatbot supporting pregnant woman delivering in public health facilities across South Africa. To begin, Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Digital Health, shares her personal take on the origin story of MomConnect, South Africa’s maternal health chatbot. Sid Ravinutala of IDInsight then takes us on a tour of how AI will change chatbots, governments, science, music, and health. Along the way, Sid and Debbie share a number of specific tools, tips, and trends relevant for AI practitioners everywhere. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.). This is the fourth and final episode of our series on AI for Health. Thank you to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.Connect with Africa Health Ventures📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, news, events, and opportunities related to healthcare ventures in Africa👍 Follow us on LinkedIn🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast to get notified when new episodes air🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding🤝🏻 Invest with usShow NotesIn this interview, we cover:* (2m56s) - An introduction to MomConnect, South Africa’s maternal health chatbot. * (9m30s) - What is the future of MomConnect? Debbie looks ahead to how AI will allow chatbots to address the specific and personal needs of mothers across South Africa. This hyper-personalization will unlock behaviour change and precision health at scale.* (13m53s) - IDInsight has supported MomConnect to better understand what mothers need when they interact with MomConnect and guide them to the right information. They are using AI to infer meaning from words i.e. intent classification. * (17m07s) - Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT will allow the average citizen to better understand and tap into government programs and benefits. Sid cites the example of Indus Action’s work in this space in India.* (20m12s) - AIs are now pretty good at making music. We share a clip from a song generated by AI. * (22m07s) - Sid anticipates how AI will usher in a new era of qualitative science. * (25m00s) - “Every AI Application in the Social Sector Should Have Guardrails". See below for links to specific guardrail tools recommended by Sid.* (27m40s) - Sid unpacks the role of regulation to manage the risks of AI. He discusses the balance between regulation and acceptable risk. * (32m18s) - Sid shares a set of technical tools and resources for getting started with AI. Also linked below.* (32m58s) - A few shoutouts to other organizations doing interesting work in this space.* (33m49s) - The next 10 years according to Sid and Debbie.Tools and References* NeMo Guardrails and Guardrails: Sid recommends that every AI application in the social sector should be using guardrails. Here are two open-source toolkits that programmers can add to their applications to implement such guardrails. * To get started quickly with AI applications, Sid recommends a suite of tools:* LangChain is a programming framework to make it easy to build LLM tools. * Llama Hub is a centralized repository and platform for integrating various tools and plugins specifically designed to enhance the functionality and performance of the LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI) series of models.* LammaIndex is a toolset designed for indexing, querying, and managing data to improve the efficiency and accuracy of search and retrieval operations in large-scale language models.* Suno AI is the tool Sid used to generate his song on AI for good. It’s pretty good. * Reach Digital Health is a South African nonprofit that scales digital health programmes to improve delivery of healthcare services. * IDInsight helps leaders combat poverty worldwide by designing, deploying and promoting evidence-generating tools, including data science and artificial intelligence.* Indus Action is an organization working with IDInsight to make government services more accessible and understandable to the average citizen with the use of AI.* Sid’s first shoutout goes to Jugalbandi, an open platform that integrates Generative AI and Indian language translation models to create conversational AI solutions. It supports over 50 Indian languages and aims to democratize access to information in various sectors such as government services, law, and healthcare through chatbots on platforms like WhatsApp. Jugalbandi is a part of the Bashini mission of the government of India.* Jacaranda Health: Sid gives a shoutout to Jacaranda Health for building a language model for Swahili in Kenya and releasing it open source. They also provide a maternal messaging service in Kenya called PROMPTS.* Dimagi: Sid also gives a shoutout to Dimagi for developing an open-source platform called Open Chat Studio to rapidly deploy LLM-based solutions for global health.Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so please share it with the world. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

How LLMs Will and Won't Work for Healthcare in Africa

Jun 13, 202400:36:13Summary ready

There's a lot of hype about what generative AI and LLMs like ChatGPT will do to improve healthcare in Africa and around the world - but is it going to work? Today we sit down with the team running the largest study ever done on how LLMs will - and won't - work for healthcare in Africa. Tobi Olatunji, Founder and CEO of Intron Health, speaks with Bilal Mateen, Executive Director of Digital Square at PATH, to discuss the upcoming AfriMed-QA project which will evaluate 20 LLMs over 32 clinical specialties across 15 countries in Africa. This is Part 3 of 4 of our series on AI for Health. Shoutout to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.Show Notes* (4m02s) - Introducing Bilal Mateen and Tobi Olatunji* (9m20s) - The 4 Ways Generative AI Will Change Healthcare in Africa* (17m01s) - The AfriMed-QA Project will create a dataset of 20,000 medical questions and answers from 15 countries across Africa and 32 clinical specialties. In the second phase, the Project will benchmark 20 of the leading large language models (LLMs) in the world to evalutae their effectiveness in the context of Africa healthcare. * (30m02s) - Takeaways from our guest speakers for anyone working in global health and looking to apply AI* (32m46s) - A call to action for the community of global health donorsNote the content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, legal, business, tax, or medical advice. Nor should this information be used to evaluate any investment or security. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

AI for Health, Part 2: A Step Ahead

May 21, 202400:42:29Summary ready

How do global actors stay one step ahead of the risks posed by AI for health?In Part 2 of our 3-part series on AI for Health, we dive deeper to see what’s going on inside the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to safeguard the future. Today’s lineup includes:* Dr. Sam Oti of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Canada and Host of the MedxTek Africa Podcast* Andy Pattison, Team Lead Digital Channels, World Health OrganizationStay tuned for the last episode in our mini-series about AI for Health, where we’ll take a peek under the hood of AI with makers and innovators at IDInsight, PATH, and Intron Health.Shoutout to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.Connect with Africa Health Ventures📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about what’s going on with healthcare ventures in Africa👍 Follow us on LinkedIn🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed fundingShow NotesSome of the topics we cover in this panel discussion include:* (3m24s) - What is the World Health Organization (WHO) doing to ensure the ethical application of AI to global health - and minimize the many risks it presents?* (5m25s) - How the WHO is working with technology partners to tackle misinformation* (12m02s) - How the WHO uses AI to understand how people are thinking about and responding to health information* (24m16s) - How did IDRC become of one of the first major funders in the world of AI for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)* (28m04s) - How does the AI for Global Health program work?* (34m29s) - What is NOT fundable? What kind of proposals get rejected?* (37m48s) - What African healthtech startups are leading the charge to disrupt healthcare with AI?Learn More* You can learn more about Andy Pattison’s work with the Digital Channels group at the WHO here.* The WHO publication, Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health, highlights the ethical challenges and risks with the use of artificial intelligence of health and proposes six consensus principles to ensure AI works to the public benefit of all countries.* Artificial Intelligence for Global Health is a five-year, CAD15.5 million investment from IDRC to fund AI efforts in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen health systems. Through this funding, research and innovation hubs have been established across Africa to support the development of responsible and inclusive AI.* Based out of Makerere University in Uganda is the Africa Hub for Artificial Intelligence in Maternal, Sexual and Reproductive Health in Africa (HASH).* In Kenya, Villgro Africa is the commercialization hub for Africa.* MedxTek Africa is a podcast from Dr. Sam Oti that showcases digital health and healthtech innovations from across Africa.* In his capacity as host of the MedxTek Podcast, Dr Sam Oti has interviewed dozens of promising healthtech startups across Africa. He highlights a few that are making strides in the application of ethical AI to global health challenges. These include:* MinoHealth AI Labs in Ghana develops AI-driven diagnostic and treatment recommendations to improve patient outcomes in Africa.* Intixel from Egypt creates AI-powered software for medical imaging, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of radiological diagnoses through automated analysis and interpretation.* Hurone AI founded by Dr. Kingsley Ndoh from Nigeria focuses on developing AI-based oncology solutions that offer personalized cancer treatment plans and improve access to quality care for cancer patients in Africa.* Jacaranda Health in Kenya provides an AI-powered health navigator that engages new and expecting moms through a chatbot on how to work with the public health system.* Looking ahead at the innovations that might be a game-changer for personal health, Dr. Sam Oti highlights the possibility of wearable AI. As an example he mentions Humane AI, a discreet, ubiquitous sensor and AI-powered second brain that you can pin to your shirt. In his words, “unfortunately it doesn’t work.” Yet.* Thank you to Alice Liu of Baraka Impact Finance for a tonne of help behind the scenes putting this episode together. Among her many achievements working in AI for global health, Alice was previously co-chair of the AI Working Group for Africa CDC's Digital Transformation Strategy.Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so please share it with the world. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

Summary

AI for Health, Part 1: Promise and Perils

May 2, 202401:01:28Summary ready

With the mind-bending pace at which artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we work and live, healthcare organizations are asking themselves: what do I need to know today to seize this opportunity? In this episode, experts from the World Health Organization, IDInsight, and Reach Digital Health unpack the promise and perils of AI for health. Today’s episode is a panel discussion first recorded live at the Marmalade Festival at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford on April 12, 2024. This is the first of a 3-part podcast series on AI for Health powered by Reach Digital Health.Our lineup includes:* Andy Pattison, Team Lead Digital Channels, World Health Organization* Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Digital Health* Sid Ravinutala, Director of Data Science, IDInsightListen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).Stay tuned for future episodes on our mini-series about AI for Health. In our next episode, we'll speak in greater depth with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Canadian funding agency IDRC, and the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.Connect with Africa Health Ventures📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about what’s going on with healthcare ventures in Africa👍 Follow us on LinkedIn🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed fundingShow NotesSome of the topics we cover in this panel discussion include:The Promise(5m09s) - Our speakers discuss the breakthroughs now possible with AI for health, including the ability to diagnose diseases years earlier than ever before; to instantaneously disseminate essential health information across languages and countries; and the ability to provide hyper-personalized care to an individual based on their needs, body, and preferences. The Perils(14m11s) - While it’s tempting to deploy AI systems for health as soon as possible, these also pose very real risks in the high-stakes work of medical care. AI is known to hallucinate: to make up information that has no grounding in reality; AI is deeply biased towards rich people living in the connected world; and AI has the potential to be the most persuasive - and by extension the most manipulative - technology we have ever seen.So… What Now?(27m02s) - What do non-profits and social enterprises need to know today to seize the opportunity? Among the many tips and suggestions shared by our speakers, Debbie’s call to action is: get stared now. If you wait two years, you’ll be another two years behind.Q&A(35m37s) Towards the end of this episode, our guests field real-world questions posed by the live audience in Oxford, such as how to source diverse data, how to mitigate bias, and the real risk of magnifying the digital divide.Learn More* Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health highlights the ethical challenges and risks with the use of artificial intelligence of health and proposes six consensus principles to ensure AI works to the public benefit of all countries.* Ada, Reach Digital Health, and the National Department of Health in South Africa launched a collaboration to provide AI-powered medical advice to mothers across the country.* MomConnect is the South African platform to share essential health information with pregnant women across the country. It is provided by the National Department of Health in South Africa in partnership with Reach Digital Health.* This episode is a panel discussion first recorded live at the Marmalade Festival at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford on April 12, 2024. You can watch a brief highlights video of the event here. * Elicit is the AI assistant that can comb through the body of scientific papers to provide precise answers to research questions. Sid mentions Elicit as a counterexample to the significant risk of AI misinformation i.e. the ways in which AI can help societies in their search for truth.* Karya provides high-quality datasets to power AI tools which include a more balanced perspective of remote, low-network areas.Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so please share it with the world. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe

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