This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
Published on July 29, 2019, Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading pharmaceutical company, has called on African innovators to adopt viable business models to ensure growth and sustainability.
The company's Director of Corporate Strategy Development, Eduardo Lioy, emphasized the importance of investing in training innovators and social entrepreneurs, particularly in human and animal health, to tackle unmet needs.
As part of its 'Making More Health' (MMH) Accelerator programme, Boehringer Ingelheim has partnered with Ashoka, an innovators platform, to bring together African social entrepreneurs and leaders from around the globe to brainstorm ways to enhance start-ups' business models and identify opportunities for strategic collaboration.
According to Eduardo, the 'co-creation' approach used in the workshop is a key tool in realizing the mission of establishing a network of financially sustainable social ventures. This approach involves bringing together diverse people and ideas to learn from each other, challenge, and improve innovative solutions.
The programme has pooled innovators from Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria who are working on animal and human health programmes in rural areas. The social ventures will proceed to a pilot phase over the next six months, developing a minimum viable product specific to their market needs, and will then pitch at Boehringer Ingelheim's headquarters for scale-up funding.
Through the Accelerator programme, Boehringer Ingelheim aims to build a network of financially sustainable social enterprises in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana to expand their outreach in remote areas.
