Astrazeneca, Royal Academy of Engineering partners to support Africa health tech entrepreneurs

AstraZeneca and the Royal Academy of Engineering yesterday (6 Oct) announced a partnership to help drive the development of health tech solutions in Africa.

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The joint venture seeks to drive the development of engineering solutions that have the potential to address local challenges with a focus on health tech.

In 2014 the Royal Academy of Engineering founded The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, an annual award that supports innovators across sub-Saharan Africa. Following an eight-month training and mentoring period, the winner receives a prize of £25,000, while three runners-up receive £10,000 each.

As part of the new collaboration, AstraZeneca will offer training support for Africa Prize entrepreneurs, giving them access to tailored expertise and experience to help them develop their projects.

AstraZeneca will also take part in a webinar series for the Africa Prize alumni network and current cohort, sharing knowledge and insights on health tech and other subjects.

“We want to offer entrepreneurs in emerging markets like Africa the same kind of platform and opportunities that their counterparts in other countries would benefit from,” says Aleksandr Bedenkov, VP, Medical International at AstraZeneca.

Henrietta/Guardian