Key Takeaways
- • Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi has partnered with Bridge for Billions to launch a new entrepreneur support program aimed at strengthening promising healthcare ventures in emerging markets.
- • Phase one targets roughly 50 entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia whose businesses have moved from the late incubation stage into early acceleration.
- • The program offers tailored support in regulatory navigation, integration with health systems, business model validation and investor fundraising readiness, with selected founders later gaining access to Abu Dhabi's health innovation ecosystem.
- • The initiative responds to documented funding gaps: according to the WIPO Global Innovation Index 2024, Latin America and Africa together accounted for about 3% of global venture capital deal count in the first half of 2024, while VC investment fell 19% in Asia Pacific and 80% in Africa.
- • Application criteria, eligibility and program details are to be announced at a later date.
Summary
Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with Bridge for Billions, has launched a new entrepreneurship support program designed to strengthen promising healthcare businesses in emerging markets and extend locally developed solutions to more people. The program is aimed at locally rooted healthcare founders who can build more robust ventures and generate greater impact in the communities they serve.
The announcement cites persistent constraints in emerging markets, where promising ventures often struggle to secure capital, specialist guidance and integration with health systems. Citing the WIPO Global Innovation Index 2024, the release notes that Latin America and Africa together represented only about 3% of global venture capital deal count in the first half of 2024, while VC investment declined 19% in Asia Pacific and 80% in Africa. The World Bank Group is cited as estimating that in low-income countries, each new job in health care generates an estimated 3.4 additional jobs across related industries.
Phase one centers on selecting about 50 entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia who have moved beyond the idea stage but have not yet reached systematic support. Ventures will be assessed on quality, maturity, scalability, market need and alignment with healthcare priorities. Participants will receive individualized online support covering regulatory compliance, health system integration, business model validation and investor readiness. A smaller group will then advance to an accelerator phase in Abu Dhabi, where they will meet regulators, healthcare institutions, research bodies and investors, with the aim of building long-term relationships within the wider health innovation ecosystem.
Abu Dhabi Department of Health Undersecretary Dr. Noura Hamis Al Ghaithi said entrepreneurs who understand their communities can design solutions that match real needs, and that access to expertise, networks and investment can convert that potential into sustained outcomes. Bridge for Billions CEO Pablo Santaeufemia said the organization works through its Connector Healthcare initiative to strengthen entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs), which are often closest to healthcare founders in emerging markets and frequently support them before funding is raised.
The program forms part of Future Health's year-round agenda, which is organized around longevity and precision medicine, health systems and sustainability, digital health and AI, and life sciences investment. Future Health is run by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health together with founding partners PureHealth, M42, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Bio.
The announcement cites persistent constraints in emerging markets, where promising ventures often struggle to secure capital, specialist guidance and integration with health systems. Citing the WIPO Global Innovation Index 2024, the release notes that Latin America and Africa together represented only about 3% of global venture capital deal count in the first half of 2024, while VC investment declined 19% in Asia Pacific and 80% in Africa. The World Bank Group is cited as estimating that in low-income countries, each new job in health care generates an estimated 3.4 additional jobs across related industries.
Phase one centers on selecting about 50 entrepreneurs in Africa and Asia who have moved beyond the idea stage but have not yet reached systematic support. Ventures will be assessed on quality, maturity, scalability, market need and alignment with healthcare priorities. Participants will receive individualized online support covering regulatory compliance, health system integration, business model validation and investor readiness. A smaller group will then advance to an accelerator phase in Abu Dhabi, where they will meet regulators, healthcare institutions, research bodies and investors, with the aim of building long-term relationships within the wider health innovation ecosystem.
Abu Dhabi Department of Health Undersecretary Dr. Noura Hamis Al Ghaithi said entrepreneurs who understand their communities can design solutions that match real needs, and that access to expertise, networks and investment can convert that potential into sustained outcomes. Bridge for Billions CEO Pablo Santaeufemia said the organization works through its Connector Healthcare initiative to strengthen entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs), which are often closest to healthcare founders in emerging markets and frequently support them before funding is raised.
The program forms part of Future Health's year-round agenda, which is organized around longevity and precision medicine, health systems and sustainability, digital health and AI, and life sciences investment. Future Health is run by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health together with founding partners PureHealth, M42, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Bio.
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