A Vancouver-based advisory firm has become a central player in the African healthtech ecosystem, facilitating over $20m in funding and revenue for startups over the last five years.
Salient Advisory, which launched in 2020 with a distributed team across Canada, Kenya, and Nigeria, is marking its fifth anniversary. The firm operates not as a direct investor, but as a strategic connector and market intelligence provider, helping early-stage companies secure the type of risk-tolerant funding often needed to get off the ground.
Its milestone comes at a critical time for the continent’s healthcare sector. As traditional development assistance from major donors like the US and UK faces cuts, the need for sustainable, locally-led health solutions is growing. Salient’s model focuses on bridging the gap between African innovators and the global health institutions, corporations, and governments that can become partners or customers.
Over the past five years, the firm’s work has involved tracking more than 1,000 African healthtech companies, producing 26 industry reports, and directly supporting over 65 startups. It has also brokered more than 630 meetings between these startups and potential customers or partners.
How it works
A key part of Salient’s strategy is its Investing in Innovation (i3) program, launched in 2022 with backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, pharmaceutical giant MSD, and healthcare solutions company Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen).
The program provides grant-based, non-dilutive funding to startups. According to Salient’s data, in 2023, the i3 program was responsible for providing 38% of all disclosed grant funding to African healthtech startups. This type of capital allows founders to validate their business models and achieve growth milestones without immediately taking on venture debt or giving up equity, making them more attractive to later-stage investors.
Startups that have been part of Salient’s cohorts include Nigeria’s Figorr, a cold-chain logistics provider; Kenya’s Zuri Health, a digital health platform; and Egypt’s Chefaa, an e-pharmacy service. The firm has also advised 15 African governments and regulators, including work on Nigeria’s Presidential Value Chain Initiative and with the Lagos State government.
“We founded Salient because we saw a gap: a disconnect between promising African innovations and the capital, visibility, and systems they needed to make impact at scale,” said founder Mara Hansen Staples in a statement. “Five years on, the interest in sustainable, locally-driven, digitally-enabled approaches to care has never been higher.”
Looking ahead, Salient plans to expand its core activities. The firm aims to provide more detailed advisory services to governments and healthcare companies on policy, regulation, and digitisation.
It also intends to grow its “Access to Markets” events, which are designed to connect a larger pool of innovators with insurers, manufacturers, distributors, and investors.
The bigger picture
Salient’s approach highlights a growing trend in development finance: building ecosystems rather than just signing cheques. By providing a mix of grant funding, expert advice, and high-level networking, it helps de-risk early-stage companies in a sector where commercialisation can be complex and lengthy.
As the continent’s health systems continue to digitise, the firm is calling for global health institutions and development partners to increase investment in African-led innovation, arguing that scaling proven local solutions is the most effective path toward building resilient health systems.