Five women from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Morocco have emerged as winners of the 2026 Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award for Africa, securing €25,000 each and six months of accelerator support to scale ventures addressing critical gaps in healthcare and food security.
The winners were announced recently during a virtual Media Parley hosted by the Bayer Foundation and the Impact Hub Network. They were selected from 1,172 global applications, with half of the entries coming from Africa.
The Africa cohort forms part of 15 winners globally, with five each from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The African winners are Dr. Alice Muhuhu, Founder of Aurora Health Systems in Kenya; Beamlak Alemayehu, Founder of Medanit Digital Health in Ethiopia; Omowunmi Christine Emmanuel-Ogah, Founder of ExCare Health in Nigeria; Funmilayo Ishola, Co-Founder of Dehydrator Hub in Nigeria; and Sokayna Bellam, Founder of Jodoor in Morocco.
Dr. Muhuhu, a medical doctor, developed Aurora’s AI-powered, offline-capable ECG device that detects more than 50 cardiac conditions.
She said the idea was born during COVID-19 while working in a public hospital where patient outcomes depended on access to diagnostics.
“Africa has the potential to build world-class technology. We should not only consume innovation, but we can create it,” she said.
In Ethiopia, Alemayehu launched Medanit Digital Health, the country’s first multi-channel digital health platform, delivering care through an app, web portal and a national health short code.
In Nigeria, Emmanuel-Ogah’s ExCare Health has turned community pharmacies into integrated primary care hubs offering diagnostics, vaccines and medication.
“What started as a pharmacy chain now operates five pharmacies, two laboratories and two accredited immunisation centres under the National Primary Health Care Development Agency”, she noted.
She said her healthcare journey began after an aunt nearly died from meningitis while the family searched four states for drugs.
Also in Nigeria, Ishola’s Dehydrator Hub is tackling post-harvest losses with solar-powered food processing infrastructure that converts waste into export-ready ingredients.
Africa loses an estimated 22 percent of annual food production, valued at nearly $92 billion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
In Morocco, Bellam’s Jodoor uses hydroponic farming to cut water use by 80 percent, a model designed for climate-stressed farmland in a region where agriculture accounts for more than 80 percent of freshwater use.
Jana Op Den Winkel, Communications and Programme Lead at Bayer Foundation, said the award is designed to do more than recognise achievement.
“It’s about asking what these solutions could become if the women behind them have the capital, the networks and the support to scale,” she said.
The six-month accelerator will focus on investor readiness, business fundamentals and impact metrics, with winners also gaining visibility at a global event in Amsterdam in October.
Executive Director of Bayer Foundation, Chitkala Kalidas, said the foundation is focused on accelerating impact.
“These women are already building solutions for better healthcare and food systems. Our role is to accelerate their journey to scale, connecting them to the capital, networks, and support they need to grow their impact faster,” she said.
The Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award began in 2021 and now runs in its sixth edition. Delivered with the Impact Hub Network, which operates in more than 130 locations, the programme provides non-dilutive funding, mentorship and access to global networks.
Mary Nnah
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