Apply: €50,000 (₦23,097,967 / GH₵356,030) Business Fund in Ashoka/Boehringer Ingelheim Health Co-creation Accelerator 2021 for Social Entrepreneurs

The program targets social entrepreneurs that meet the below selection criteria and whose organizations contribute either directly or indirectly to human & animal health access in Africa. While healthcare access lies at the core of the Making More Health program, there is also an interest in how health intersects with environmental sustainability including protection of clean water, reducing carbon emissions and smarter usage of natural resources in packaging and design.

i) Direct contribution: Innovations that contribute directly to healthcare access (for humans and animals) by providing frontline delivery of health products and services to both people as well as to farmers and their livestock. (For people, the accelerator has a particular focus on non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension myocardial infarction, stroke respiratory disease and cancers.) Topics of interest include last-mile delivery, e-health solutions, disease management support services and diagnostic solutions, and one-health models.

ii) Indirect contribution: Innovations that contribute indirectly to healthcare access for humans and animals by enabling solutions that make access to healthcare more affordable, efficient, effective, accessible and sustainable. Topics of interest include health insurance innovations, data analytics, public awareness and education, emergency transport solutions, technology platforms as well as solutions combining health and environmental sustainability.

SELECTION CRITERIA

 1. Professional growth:
The program offers participants multiple opportunities for professional growth and development in their entrepreneurial journey. Includes in-person and online workshops and seminars on topics about operations, systems change, replication & transfer, social finance, and new leadership among others.

 2. Technical expertise:
As participants develop and test strategies to unlock their potential for scale and sustainability, they have access to expert advice from experienced professionals at Boehringer Ingelheim through a curated Executive in Residence (EiR) or expert engagement program. Engagement with BI employees may take place virtually or in-person for 2-4 weeks at a time. Additionally, the program engages a number of consultants to offer tailored expert support to participants in areas such as investor engagement, communications and pitching.

 3. Strategic networks:
Accelerator participants become part of an ever growing and closely knit community of ecosystem actors including impact investors, foundations, government agencies, corporate executives, social entrepreneurs and experts committed to improving health care access for humans and animals across Africa with ongoing support from Making More Health.

 4. Investment access support
The program provides each participant with a grant of Euros 50k for piloting/testing a new strategy or element of a business model, with the possibility of additional scale up funds of up to Euros 150K for successful pilots. Participants also receive tens of thousands of euros in pro-bono technical support and investment readiness coaching. In addition, the program gives program participants the chance to showcase their innovations to a larger community of investors at an annual investor showcase event.

 5. Business Collaboration
Where there is a timely and strategic fit between Boehringer Ingelheim and a participating social venture, there is the potential to explore a strategic business collaboration with significant long-term benefits for both organizations.

APPLICATION PROCESS