Key Takeaways
- • Future Health, a global initiative based in Abu Dhabi, and Bridge for Billions are launching a new entrepreneurship program to strengthen health-focused businesses in emerging markets.
- • The first phase will identify about 50 entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia at the stage between late incubation and early acceleration.
- • Selected entrepreneurs will receive personalized support, and a smaller group will later join an acceleration stage in Abu Dhabi.
- • The program targets persistent gaps in access to capital and specialized support, citing WIPO data that Latin America and Africa together accounted for about 3% of global venture capital deals in the first half of 2024, with venture investment in Africa down 80%.
- • Bridge for Billions, through its Conecta Healthcare initiative, is positioning support organizations as the key channel for scaling health entrepreneurship.
Summary
A Future Health, a global initiative headquartered in Abu Dhabi, and Bridge for Billions have announced a new entrepreneurship program designed to strengthen promising health-sector businesses in emerging markets and help locally developed solutions reach wider audiences, according to the release distributed via Business Wire.
The announcement frames a funding and expertise gap. The release cites the WIPO Global Innovation Index 2024, which found that Latin America and Africa together represented roughly 3% of global venture capital transactions in the first half of 2024, while venture capital volume invested fell 19% in the Asia-Pacific region and 80% in Africa over the same period. It also cites World Bank Group data indicating that each health-sector job in low-income countries is associated with about 3.4 additional jobs in related sectors.
The program combines structured training with access to specialized knowledge, networks and connections to health systems. Its first phase will focus on identifying about 50 entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia who have moved past the ideation stage but remain at a point where structured support is useful. Businesses will be assessed on quality, maturity, scalability, market needs and relevance to health priorities.
A second phase will offer an online personalized program covering regulatory navigation, integration with health systems, business model validation and investment readiness. A smaller group will then take part in an acceleration stage in Abu Dhabi, with access to regulators, healthcare providers, research institutions and emirate-based investors.
Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said locally rooted entrepreneurs can develop solutions grounded in real health needs, and that expertise, networks and appropriate investment can turn that potential into lasting impact. Pablo Santaeufemia, CEO of Bridge for Billions, said support organizations are often the first to back founders, well before capital arrives, and that the partnership aims to give founders and their supporting organizations tools, networks and visibility to shape global health innovation, particularly in the Global South.
Future Health is organized by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi with founding partners PureHealth, M42, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Bio. Application details, eligibility criteria and other program information will be released later.
The announcement frames a funding and expertise gap. The release cites the WIPO Global Innovation Index 2024, which found that Latin America and Africa together represented roughly 3% of global venture capital transactions in the first half of 2024, while venture capital volume invested fell 19% in the Asia-Pacific region and 80% in Africa over the same period. It also cites World Bank Group data indicating that each health-sector job in low-income countries is associated with about 3.4 additional jobs in related sectors.
The program combines structured training with access to specialized knowledge, networks and connections to health systems. Its first phase will focus on identifying about 50 entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia who have moved past the ideation stage but remain at a point where structured support is useful. Businesses will be assessed on quality, maturity, scalability, market needs and relevance to health priorities.
A second phase will offer an online personalized program covering regulatory navigation, integration with health systems, business model validation and investment readiness. A smaller group will then take part in an acceleration stage in Abu Dhabi, with access to regulators, healthcare providers, research institutions and emirate-based investors.
Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said locally rooted entrepreneurs can develop solutions grounded in real health needs, and that expertise, networks and appropriate investment can turn that potential into lasting impact. Pablo Santaeufemia, CEO of Bridge for Billions, said support organizations are often the first to back founders, well before capital arrives, and that the partnership aims to give founders and their supporting organizations tools, networks and visibility to shape global health innovation, particularly in the Global South.
Future Health is organized by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi with founding partners PureHealth, M42, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Bio. Application details, eligibility criteria and other program information will be released later.
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