The Conecta Africa Summit 2026 was an entrepreneurship support organisation (ESO) regional summit held in Lagos, Nigeria from 15th to 21st May 2026. The summit brought together ecosystem practitioners, researchers, funders, policymakers, ESOs, and entrepreneurs from across Africa to explore the future of entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Convened by Bridge for Billions under the theme “From Entrepreneur-Centric to ESO-Centric Ecosystems,” the summit focused on how stronger, better-resourced institutions can create more sustainable support systems for entrepreneurs.
ESOs are central to the institutional infrastructure that enables the scaling of entrepreneurial innovations. Therefore, discussions at the summit revolved around creating long-term support for ESOs, improving government collaboration with ecosystem stakeholders, and creating financing models that support sustainable long-term adoption instead of short-term program funding.
Strathmore University’s PRISM Centre was well represented by Mr. Timothy Chege, who participated in one of the panel discussions titled “Sector-Specific Ecosystems – The Conecta Healthcare Blueprint”, and this was his experience from the summit:
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I participated in Panel 2 alongside representatives from The Nest Innovation Technology Park (Nigeria) and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI). The discussion explored lessons from the Conecta Healthcare pilot and examined the need for sector-specific ecosystem models.
During the discussion, I shared findings from our ecosystem landscaping and baseline assessment studies and highlighted a persistent specialisation gap within Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
While healthcare is increasingly recognised as a priority area, most ESOs continue to operate as generalist organisations, with rather few offering dedicated health-sector support. Research reveals that there are fewer than 10 percent of health-focused ESOs, despite the magnitude and complexity of the health sector.
And yet, healthcare startups face unique challenges that extend beyond traditional business development, including regulatory compliance, clinical validation, procurement pathways, and public sector adoption. This creates a disconnect between the complexity of healthcare innovation and the institutional capacity available to support it, underscoring the need for more sector-specific ecosystem models.
Critical Panel Insights
Several lessons emerged from my contribution to the panel:
- Sector specialisation is no longer optional
Healthcare startups operate within highly regulated and technically complex environments. Generic incubation models often fail to address challenges such as regulatory approval, clinical validation, procurement pathways, evidence generation, and health system integration. Specialised support is therefore essential for startup survival and growth.
- Strong ecosystems reduce entrepreneurial friction
Our research demonstrates that many African innovation ecosystems remain fragmented. Entrepreneurs frequently navigate disconnected systems involving regulators, investors, healthcare institutions, and markets. Effective ESOs play a critical role in reducing this friction by acting as technical navigators, ecosystem coordinators, and legitimacy brokers.
- The return on investment extends beyond startups
I emphasised that the ROI of sector-specific ecosystem building should not be measured solely in financial terms. Investments in capable ESOs generate downstream benefits through improved startup survival, stronger partnerships, reduced transaction costs, enhanced innovation uptake, and more efficient use of entrepreneurial support resources.
- Public sector innovation uptake is critical
Innovation has limited impact if health systems cannot absorb and scale it. Governments must evolve from simply being regulators to becoming active partners in innovation adoption by creating clear pathways for piloting, procurement, and integration of locally developed solutions.
Shared Lessons from the Summit
Across the summit discussions, there was strong consensus that ESOs should be recognised and supported as critical ecosystem infrastructure. Participants repeatedly highlighted the need to move from project-based funding toward institutional strengthening approaches that build long-term organisational capacity. The summit also reinforced the importance of measuring ecosystem quality including collaboration, institutional capacity, and policy engagement alongside traditional startup metrics.
Emerging Opportunities
The discussions at Conecta Africa highlighted a growing shift in thinking about entrepreneurship ecosystems. Future efforts should focus on strengthening sector-specific ESOs, advancing stronger partnerships between academia, industry, government, and entrepreneurs, and developing sustainable financing mechanisms for ecosystem intermediaries.
For healthcare innovation specifically, the future lies in building ecosystems that not only support startup creation but also facilitate legitimacy, adoption, and scaling within health systems. As our ongoing research continues to demonstrate, Africa does not lack innovators; what we need are stronger institutions and ecosystems that enable innovation to thrive and deliver meaningful societal impact.
