Kenya-based digital pharmacy MYDAWA has partnered with Endless Health to develop a digital-first model for hypertension and diabetes care, one of four new healthtech deals announced at Investing in Innovation Africa’s (i3) fourth annual Access to Markets event in Kigali.

The partnership will co-design, test and document a model for delivering chronic disease care to low- and middle-income patients through private pharmacies in East Africa.

Developed in partnership with Ariadne Labs, the initiative will build an evidence base around the ability of private pharmacies to provide quality hypertension and diabetes care while improving access for patients in their communities.

MYDAWA is also partnering with Turn.io, a WhatsApp-based patient engagement platform, to make communication with patients easier and more accessible.

“Chronic disease care in East Africa is being delivered through private pharmacies whether the system plans for it or not,” said Rubayat Khan, Director of Health Programs at Endless. “What is missing is evidence about whether that channel can deliver quality, not just convenience.”

MYDAWA Group COO Priscilla Muhiu said private pharmacies remain an important first point of care for people living with hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

“This partnership gives us an opportunity to make access more affordable and strengthen care delivery for patients in their own communities,” Muhiu said.

The MYDAWA partnership was announced alongside three other agreements involving African healthtech companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies and regulators.

Tanzanian healthtech company Dawa Mkononi signed a working-capital agreement with NMB Bank to extend interest-free credit to pharmacies, drug shops and health facilities across Tanzania.

The financing will be delivered through Dawa Mkononi’s proprietary credit-scoring engine. The company says it has already facilitated more than $6 million in financing to frontline health facilities, with a 0.3% non-performing rate.

Pharmaceutical supply-chain company Meditect has received debt financing from Boehringer Ingelheim to expand access to affordable and authentic medicines across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The financing will support Meditect’s expansion into new and existing markets while helping the company digitize pharmaceutical supply chains.

Boehringer Ingelheim Associate Director Aditya Peri said strengthening trusted pharmaceutical supply chains could help improve access to authentic medicines and address the challenge of counterfeit and substandard products across the region.

In Nigeria, healthtech company Sproxil signed a Memorandum of Collaboration with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) to support pharmacy regulation through digital and artificial intelligence systems.

The collaboration will cover the National Electronic Pharmacy Platform, oversight of online pharmaceutical sales, digitization of PCN’s field audit workflow and expanded delivery of mandatory continuing professional development for pharmacists.

PCN will retain full regulatory authority, while Sproxil will provide the technology and data infrastructure.

The four agreements add to i3’s growing record of connecting African healthtech companies with commercial and institutional partners.

According to i3, its Access to Markets programme has facilitated more than 760 bespoke introductions, resulting in 165 partnerships, pilots and memorandums of understanding valued at more than $19 million.

As of April 2026, i3 innovators had served more than 6.85 million patients and tracked, protected or distributed more than 209 million health products across Africa.

This year’s Access to Markets event brought together 20 African health innovators and 57 global and regional industry players, including Gavi, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, BillionScale Health, AMREF and several government institutions.

The participating innovators included Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Sproxil and Zuri Health.

Together, the companies are expanding patient access and pharmaceutical safety through 3,500 health facilities across 19 African countries.

“African innovators are reshaping healthcare delivery across the region, with solutions designed to address local gaps and reach the communities and patients who need them most,” said Oladunni Lawal, Investing in Innovation Lead.

“Through Access to Markets, we are bringing regional and global partners closer to these businesses, opening commercial opportunities that enable their innovations to deliver greater health impact.”

Access to Markets is i3’s flagship initiative for connecting African healthtech companies with regional and global health organizations and industry players, with a focus on commercial partnerships, market access and scaling locally developed healthcare solutions.

i3 is supported by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Health, HELP Logistics, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim and implemented by Salient Advisory and the Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR).