…Axmed to match funding for lifesaving drug procurement across Sub-Saharan Africa through innovative digital platform
By Bunmi Yekini
Geneva – In a major boost to maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $5 million grant to Axmed, a healthcare technology firm transforming medicine procurement in low-resource settings.
Announced during a high-level roundtable at the 78th World Health Assembly, the grant will serve as a 1:1 matching fund to support government procurement of quality-assured MNCH commodities via the Axmed Medicines Platform. The initiative is projected to unlock up to \$10 million in total procurement funding.
“Reducing the number of preventable deaths of mothers and babies is key to our work in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Cynthia Mwase, Director of Health, Africa, at the Gates Foundation. “This partnership with Axmed and local health leaders is an important step forward in ensuring that life-saving innovations reach the communities where they can make the greatest difference – so that more families can experience healthy pregnancies, safe births, and strong starts to life.”
The fund is designed to address chronic gaps in access to essential medicines caused by weak procurement systems, funding shortages, and fragmented supply chains. It also comes at a time when global financial constraints and declining donor support have left governments struggling to secure critical health commodities.
“Through our partnership with Axmed, the Government of Rwanda has shown that meaningful improvements in the efficient and sustainable delivery of high-quality medicines across multiple therapeutic areas can be achieved,” said Dr. Loko Abraham, CEO of Rwanda Medical Supply. “This matching fund is a strategic step forward in reimagining procurement in a new era of global health: smarter, faster, and designed to deliver measurable results.”
Axmed’s digital platform enables pooled procurement by connecting institutional buyers directly with vetted suppliers, offering up to 80% cost reductions on select MNCH products. In 2024, users of the platform saved an average of 20–30% on medicines.
“This fund is a clear example of how catalytic financing and technology can work together to deliver immediate and lasting impact,” said Emmanuel Akpakwu, Founder & CEO of Axmed. “Our goal is not just to deliver quality medicines faster and more affordably, but to help build more resilient and efficient procurement systems for the future.”
The initiative marks a significant step in improving equitable access to lifesaving healthcare for mothers and children in low- and middle-income countries.