Startups: Here’s how to qualify and apply for the Sanofi VivaTech challenge

Pharmaceutical company Sanofi recently launched three challenges for African healthcare startups to find innovative solutions that can help improve access to healthcare and transform the health ecosystem throughout the continent.

The challenge was launched in partnership with VivaTech, an annual technology conference, dedicated to innovation and startups.

Technology is transforming how healthcare is delivered in Africa, and the Sanofi VivaTech challenge is looking for startups that can develop solutions to give more people especially in remote areas of Africa access to better care.

Challenges

Sanofi launched three challenges, and interested African health startups can apply for any of the challenges. A jury of professionals will then select the final startups who will go ahead and participate in the VivaTech conference to held in Paris, France from May 16th to 18th, 2019.

The first challenge should provide solutions to enhance awareness, diagnosis and disease management of patients suffering from diabetes. The second challenge should focus on how to improve access to medicines in remote areas from supply chain management to alternative payment solutions. This challenge should make it possible to develop innovative and personalized solutions, for better patient care, even in the most isolated areas. Sanofi is looking for tools developing systems reaching the “Last Mile” through e-commerce, direct to pharmacy, direct to patient and tailored payment solutions and can provide better health support for people. The third challenge should provide solutions to support decision-makers in getting a better usage of available health data to recognize and predict diseases, for research purposes and to improve health care management. This challenge aims to identify solutions to assist in the decision-making process and the evaluation of public-private partnerships.

Application

Startups will be evaluated according to 5 criteria: concrete evidence of positive results in at least one African country, project maturity, relevance of the solution, market potential and business model, skills, expertise and experience of the team and finally scientific evidence if applicable.

Interested startups can submit their ideas through the Sanofi VivaTech challenge website here.

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