Hanga Sexual & Reproductive Health Program
Hanga SRH: Breaking the mould in sexual and reproductive health across Africa
A catalytic blend of grant funding and hands-on venture support, moving twenty early-stage sexual and reproductive health innovators from promising ideas towards investment-ready businesses across Africa.
The challenge
Sub-Saharan Africa carries a disproportionate share of the world’s unmet sexual and reproductive health (SRH) need. The region still has the highest maternal mortality globally, 77% of abortions are unsafe, and adolescent girls and young women bear a disproportionate HIV burden. Over the last 30 years there have been significant strides in improving SRH across Africa, yet access to SRH rights remains uneven, and SRH has historically received donor and public financing but limited investment from private investors.
Tech-enabled ventures working in this space face a specific set of blockers: regulatory hurdles, incomplete user testing, immature business models, and little access to patient capital willing to back early-stage ideas in overlooked geographies and populations.
SRH needs commercially-minded solutions that break the mould. The question Hanga SRH was designed to answer was whether a catalytic, blended package of grant funding and hands-on venture support could move early-stage SRH innovators from promising ideas to investment-ready businesses, fast enough and robustly enough to attract private capital into a space that private investors have historically avoided.
What was achieved
- Supported 20 SRH innovators from 11 African countries through Cohort 1, with ventures operating across low-resource health systems, rural clinics, and peri-urban youth markets.
- A 220% increase in jobs created and a 231% increase in funding raised across the cohort over one year.
- $1,490,000+ in follow-on funding raised from VCs and foundations through curated deal rooms.
- 33,500+ beneficiaries impacted across the portfolio.
- $55,500+ in revenue generated through sales of SRH products and services.
- 130+ jobs created, primarily for women and youth.
- 570 Traditional Birth Attendants trained on safe delivery practices.
- Venture highlights: Malaica (Kenya) partnered with Britam Foundation to support 300 women in Kibera and generated KES 984,300 (around $7,636) through a partnership with Avenue Healthcare; Dawahealth (Zambia) partnered with three pharmacies and made $3,536 in SRH product sales; Talk To Your Midwife (Ghana) launched a point-of-care service at Agartha Market, serving 68 mothers on day one and securing $6,000 in seed funding; GRIT (South Africa) delivered 10 GBV and SRH training sessions and raised ZAR 160,000 from a portfolio of corporate and foundation clients.
- Programme recognised in New Times Rwanda press coverage celebrating 10 start-ups transforming SRH across Africa through technology.
As a practicing midwife with years of clinical experience, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges and barriers women face in accessing reliable reproductive health services. My work on a radio show also highlighted the overwhelming demand for accessible, accurate information and professional support, underscoring the need for a more comprehensive solution.
How we did it
Brink RW designed and delivered Hanga SRH as the lead programme manager, working in consortium with Three Stones International and in close partnership with Hanga PitchFest and RISA (Rwanda Information Society Authority). The programme was initiated in 2023 by the Government of Rwanda under the Hanga PitchFest initiative, with funding from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the Ministry of ICT & Innovation (MINICT), and the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Rwanda (C4IR).
- Structured support across two stages: Proving Concepts (acting as the first donor for innovators at prototype and market-testing stage) and Proving Models (acting as the final grant-giver, helping ventures nail last-mile assumptions on revenue, team and distribution before pitching investors).
- Awarded grants of $10,000 to $30,000 over 12 months to 20 early-stage SRH innovators from 11 African countries, working on tech-enabled solutions across maternal health, unsafe abortion, youth-friendly services, contraception, and gender-based violence.
- Delivered 1:1 bespoke experiment design with venturing experts, giving each team a rigorous method for testing their riskiest assumptions.
- Provided 1:1 and cohort-level technical mentorship in SRH topics and specific technologies, alongside peer learning across the cohort.
- Ran an investor deal room, matchmaking innovators with Villgro Africa, Renew Capital, and Jaza Rift according to technology focus, country, and specialist area.
- Steered investment towards Uninvested Areas (overlooked SRH issues, populations and geographies) and Pioneering Ideas (emerging technologies or approaches that challenge SRH norms).
- Hosted ecosystem-building convenings, including a Reflect, Connect & Learn Lunch in December 2024 and a December 2025 Innovation Safari touring Bwiza Health Post, Zipline drone medical logistics, and Urugo Women’s Center in rural Rwanda.
