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Women's health innovation, Kenya

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Kenya

Kenya is one of Africa's deepest women's health innovation ecosystems, anchored in Nairobi and spanning maternal and newborn health, sexual and reproductive health, menstrual health, telehealth and diagnostics. Kasha, a Kenya-based women's health e-commerce platform, raised the largest round ever by a woman-led African health startup, and Jacaranda Health's PROMPTS has reached nearly three million mothers by SMS. In 2025 Nairobi cemented its role as a continental hub, with UNFPA launching its global WomenX Collective Nairobi Hub and Sweden's DAYA venture studio opening an East Africa femtech accelerator there.

Maternal & newborn healthSexual & reproductive healthMenstrual healthTelehealthDiagnostics
355

maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (2019), about 367 estimated in 2022 globalfinancingfacility.org

57%

modern contraceptive prevalence among married women (KDHS 2022) dhsprogram.com

USD 52M

raised by women-led African healthtech in 2023, Kasha-led, 31% of the total forbesafrica.com

2.9M

mothers reached by Jacaranda Health's PROMPTS SMS service jacarandahealth.org

01 of 07

Latest major news

Recent activity centres on Nairobi becoming a hub for women's health innovation plus continued AI-driven maternal health scaling.

02 of 07

Policy & strategy

Kenya has built a layered policy stack for reproductive health and digital health, including binding digital health legislation.

03 of 07

Latest ecosystem moves

Accelerators, hubs and outcome-based finance are concentrating in Nairobi.

04 of 07

Notable funding rounds

Rounds span women's health e-commerce, telemedicine, diagnostics and maternal health, mixing equity, grants and impact bonds.

05 of 07

Key players & hubs

Kenya's ecosystem mixes venture-backed startups, nonprofits, government bodies and multilateral hubs.

06 of 07

Active investors

A mix of gender-lens VCs, DFIs, foundations and outcome funders back Kenyan women's health.

07 of 07

White papers & reports

Key reports frame Kenya's women's health funding and policy landscape.

Latest major news

2025-06
UNFPA, Government of Kenya, Africa CDC and Aga Khan University launch the global WomenX Collective Nairobi Hub, aiming to mobilise USD 100M in catalytic investment by 2030.
unfpa.org
2025-06
Sweden's DAYA venture studio opens its first East Africa hub in Nairobi, launching the region's first femtech accelerator for women-led ventures.
femtechinsider.com
2026-04
UNICEF Femtech Ventures announces its first cohort of 11 startups (from 1,100+ applications), including Kenya's SafeRide by Esheria, each receiving up to USD 100k equity-free.
femtechinsider.com
2025-01
Jacaranda Health and IDRC launch a partnership to scale responsible AI (a Swahili LLM in PROMPTS) for new and expecting mothers; PROMPTS has reached about 2.9M women.
idrc-crdi.ca
2025-06
The m-mama community emergency transport system (Vodafone Foundation, M-Pesa Foundation, USAID, government) becomes fully operational, benefiting 1.5M+ mothers.
ethicalbusiness.africa

Policy & strategy

2022-01
National Reproductive Health Policy 2022-2032 adopted, setting a decade-long framework for reproductive health services.
repository.kippra.or.ke
2023-10
Digital Health Act 2023 enacted, establishing the Digital Health Agency and a Comprehensive Integrated Digital Health Information System.
health.go.ke
2025-10
Kenya RMNCAH-N Investment Case 2025/26-2029/30 published, mapping universal access to reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health with nutrition.
globalfinancingfacility.org
2025-01
National Family Planning Guidelines 7th Edition (2025) signed by the Ministry of Health.
health.go.ke

Latest ecosystem moves

â–¸WomenX Collective Nairobi Hub extends UNFPA's global network (after Berlin 2024), targeting 10.4M averted unintended pregnancies and 21,000 maternal lives saved by 2030. unfpa.org
â–¸DAYA Hub Africa launches East Africa's first femtech accelerator, with 100+ founder and partner registrations at launch. femtechinsider.com
â–¸A Grand Challenges grant supports advancing Kenya's women's health through policy and fem-tech capacity building. gcgh.grandchallenges.org
â–¸Villgro Africa's African Women Innovating in Healthcare (AWIIH) 2025 cohort backs women-led health ventures across the region. villgroafrica.org
â–¸Tiko (Triggerise) runs a USD 10.1M Adolescent SRH Development Impact Bond, an outcome-based finance model reaching hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls. kenya.unfpa.org

Notable funding rounds

Disclosed round size (USD)

Kasha USD 21M
Series B · 2023-07 · Knife Capital techcrunch.com
Kasha USD 3.6M
Series A · 2021-01 · Finnfund femtechinsider.com
Ilara Health USD 4.2M
Pre-Series A · 2024-02 · DOB Equity disruptafrica.com
Ilara Health USD 1.1M
Grant · 2020-10 · Gates Foundation tracxn.com
Zuri Health undisclosed
Strategic / gender-lens · 2023-07 · Five35 Ventures impactalpha.com
Tiko (Triggerise) USD 10.1M
Impact bond · 2023-12 · Bridges Outcomes Partnerships jointsdgfund.org
Access Afya USD 1M
Seed · 2018-07 · Undisclosed crunchbase.com
SafeRide by Esheria up to USD 100k
Grant (equity-free) · 2026-04 · UNICEF Femtech Ventures femtechinsider.com

Rounds by type

8 rounds
Series B1
Series A1
Pre-Series A1
Grant1
Strategic / gender-lens1
Impact bond1
Seed1
Grant (equity-free)1

Key players & hubs

Ecosystem by organisation type

14 orgs
Startup8
NGO2
Hub2
Govt1
Investor1
Kasha
Startup

Women's health e-commerce platform; largest woman-led African health round femtechinsider.com

Jacaranda Health
NGO

PROMPTS AI/SMS maternal health tool reaching about 2.9M mothers, with a Swahili LLM jacarandahealth.org

Zuri Health
Startup

Woman-led telemedicine virtual hospital; Bayer contraception partner, 9 African markets impactalpha.com

Ilara Health
Startup

AI-powered diagnostics and primary care clinics; maternal health focus crunchbase.com

Access Afya
Startup

Chain of 15 mini-clinics in Greater Nairobi, 240,000+ patients served accessafya.com

Tiko (Triggerise)
Startup

Mobile platform connecting adolescents to SRH services via outcome-based finance tiko.org

ZanaAfrica
NGO

Menstrual health: Safi/Nia sanitary pads plus rights-based education, 100,000+ girls zanaafrica.org

Lily Health
Startup

Nairobi-based mobile messaging for reproductive health advice and cycle tracking tracxn.com

Malaica
Startup

Connects 200,000+ mothers to a pregnancy community via a hybrid care model impacc.org

Totohealth
Startup

SMS-based pregnancy and child health information for mothers and under-fives femtechinsider.com

WomenX Collective Nairobi Hub
Hub

UNFPA/Kenya/Africa CDC/Aga Khan University hub; USD 100M catalytic target by 2030 unfpa.org

DAYA Hub Africa
Hub

Sweden-founded venture studio running East Africa's first femtech accelerator in Nairobi dayahub.africa

Kenya Ministry of Health
Govt

Owns Digital Health Act 2023, RMNCAH-N Investment Case and family planning guidelines health.go.ke

Villgro Africa
Investor

Health incubator running the African Women Innovating in Healthcare (AWIIH) cohort villgroafrica.org

Active investors

Active investors by headquarters

Global 3
USA 2
Netherlands 2
South Africa 1
Finland 1
UK 1
Five35 Ventures
Gender-lens VC; backed Zuri Health and joined Kasha's Series B impactalpha.com
Global
Knife Capital
Led Kasha's USD 21M Series B techcrunch.com
South Africa
Finnfund
DFI backing Kasha across Series A and B finnfund.fi
Finland
U.S. DFC
USD 1M equity in Kasha supporting women's health in East Africa dfc.gov
USA
DOB Equity
Led Ilara Health's USD 4.2M pre-Series A disruptafrica.com
Netherlands
Gates Foundation
USD 1.1M grant to Ilara Health for maternal health tracxn.com
USA
UNICEF Femtech Ventures
Equity-free platform backing Kenyan startups including SafeRide by Esheria unicef.org
Global
UNFPA
Co-founder of WomenX Collective Nairobi Hub; adolescent SRH impact bond funder unfpa.org
Global
Bridges Outcomes Partnerships
Upfront funder of Tiko's USD 10.1M adolescent SRH Development Impact Bond jointsdgfund.org
UK
Philips Foundation
Co-investor in Ilara Health's pre-Series A disruptafrica.com
Netherlands

White papers & reports

â–¸Salient Advisory / Forbes Africa: Women-Led African Healthtech Firms Secure USD 52M, a 2,000%+ increase (2023 roundup) forbesafrica.com
â–¸Kenya RMNCAH-N Investment Case 2025/26-2029/30, Global Financing Facility globalfinancingfacility.org
â–¸Sectoral Brief: Gender and Health in Kenya, UN Women (2025) africa.unwomen.org
â–¸Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 Key Indicators Report, DHS Program dhsprogram.com

Sources and references

Every figure and claim above links back to a public source. 15 references, updated 2026-08.

Femtech Insider, Kasha Series Bfemtechinsider.comTechCrunch, Kasha USD 21Mtechcrunch.comUNFPA, WomenX Nairobi Hub launchunfpa.orgFemtech Insider, DAYA East Africafemtechinsider.comFemtech Insider, UNICEF Femtech Ventures cohortfemtechinsider.comJacaranda Health, PROMPTSjacarandahealth.orgIDRC, Jacaranda and IDRC AI partnershipidrc-crdi.caImpactAlpha, Five35 backs Zuri Healthimpactalpha.comDisrupt Africa, Ilara Health USD 4.2Mdisruptafrica.comJoint SDG Fund, Tiko impact bondjointsdgfund.orgMoH Kenya, Digital Health transformationhealth.go.keGFF, Kenya RMNCAH-N Investment Caseglobalfinancingfacility.orgForbes Africa / Salient, USD 52M women-ledforbesafrica.comDHS Program, KDHS 2022dhsprogram.comZanaAfrica, Menstrual Healthzanaafrica.org

Related country reports

Nigeria Africa's densest women's-health-tech ecosystem: strong on policy, starved of dedicated venture capital. South Africa Mature health-tech and SRH market anchored by MomConnect, with a small but fast-growing femtech scene. Egypt Small but distinctive Arabic-language femtech, led by MotherBeing and menstrual health apps. Uganda Maternal and reproductive health innovation around Kampala, largely grant-funded.