Editor’s note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa.
Five African women entrepreneurs have been named among 15 global winners of the Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award 2026. The award, run by the Bayer Foundation in partnership with the Impact Hub Network, saw 1,172 applications from Africa and the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
The winners were chosen for building scalable, women-led ventures tackling healthcare access and food security, following a review process that weighed innovation, vision, impact potential and community commitment.
The five winners from Africa and the Middle East are Dr. Alice Muhuhu, Beamlak Alemayehu, Funmilayo Ishola, Omowunmi Christine Emmanuel-Ogah, and Sokayna Bellam.
Dr. Alice Muhuhu of Aurora Health Systems in Kenya is using artificial intelligence to widen access to cardiac care. Drawn to the problem after working in public hospitals and losing a loved one to heart disease, she built portable, AI-powered ECG devices that can detect over 50 cardiac conditions without needing constant electricity, internet access or on-site specialists. Because fewer than one percent of existing ECG datasets reflect African patients, her devices are also generating locally representative data that supports both frontline diagnosis and wider cardiovascular research.
In Ethiopia, Beamlak Alemayehu built Medanit Digital Health, the country’s first integrated multi-channel platform for healthcare access. A former clinical nurse and social worker, she designed the service to reach patients through a mobile app, a website, and a low-bandwidth call centre tied to the national health short code 6636, meaning people without smartphones can still book doctors, order medication or reach mental health support. Medanit is now developing AI-driven triage tools to guide patients by symptom urgency while feeding real-time data back into Ethiopia’s health planning.
Nigeria, one of the biggest and most prominent startup hubs in Africa, produced two winners. Funmilayo Ishola founded Dehydrator Hub Agrifood Technology Limited after watching produce spoil unsold in Lagos’s Boundary Market as a child. Her company uses hybrid solar-powered dehydration to turn perishable fruits, vegetables and tubers into shelf-stable ingredients, offering the processing as a service so small and women-led agribusinesses don’t need to buy their own equipment. Beyond preservation, Dehydrator Hub offers training and regulatory support to help producers meet NAFDAC and FDA standards, with plans to set up processing hubs across all 774 of Nigeria’s local government areas.
Omowunmi Christine Emmanuel-Ogah founded ExCare Health after a family medical emergency, when a relative nearly died because a needed medicine couldn’t be found in time. What started as a single pharmacy has grown into a network of five pharmacies, two diagnostic labs and an accredited immunisation centre. Through its Vaxreach programme, ExCare also trains independent community pharmacies to deliver vaccinations, extending primary care into underserved neighbourhoods.
From Morocco, Sokayna Bellam, co-founder of Jodoor, is helping farmers grow more with less water and land through locally adapted hydroponic systems for leafy vegetables and herbs like basil, chives and dill. Built for arid, climate-stressed regions across Africa and the Middle East, Jodoor pairs the technology with training, operational support and market access, with a particular focus on creating stable, dignified work for women in agriculture.
These five African innovators join 10 other winners from Asia Pacific and Latin America in a six-month Bayer Foundation Accelerator Programme built to sharpen financials, impact metrics and investor readiness. The winners also receive $28,500 (€25,000) in non-dilutive funding, mentorship from industry leaders, storytelling and PR support to raise their profile, and entry into the Bayer Foundation’s women-led alumni network as well as Impact Hub’s global network of local ecosystem partners.
The accelerator, which runs between June and November, will culminate in a sponsored trip to Amsterdam from 26 to 30 October 2026 for Awardee Days and the Award Ceremony, where founders pitch their ventures, connect with their cohort and mark their achievement.
Bayer Foundation says its social innovation work is guided by two goals: “Health for all” and “Hunger for none”. Through the award, the foundation and Impact Hub aim to help women entrepreneurs build durable businesses that strengthen healthcare and food systems in the communities they serve.
