One hundred and five prospective entrepreneurs will get the opportunity to tap into the $1 million seed fund being provided by the Mastercard Foundation Health Collaborative.

Pillar lead for Health Entrepreneurship under the Collaborative, Prof. Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah says the funding can be accessed by anybody who has viable health-related business ideas.

"Once we recognise your idea is a business opportunity and it's scalable, you'll get the opportunity. Even if you've not gone through any of our programmes but you have solid ideas in Health-related sectors, you'll be eligible to apply for this funding. When you pitch your idea and we find it worthy and scalable, we'll fund it," he said.

Speaking at a stakeholder engagement from KNUST-health-affiliated Training Institutions and MMDAs in the Northern sector, Prof. Owusu-Ansah said the programme will also feature a pitching session, where stakeholders will be invited to be part of the panel members.

The package also includes registration of the business and provision of financial management support, and even an incubator space.

"We'll even be teaching them how to pitch and create the platform they'll be able to pitch their ideas and we'll invite our stakeholders to adjudicate in terms of which idea is more important.

"We hold your hand through the registration of the business, providing financial management," Prof. Owusu-Ansah said.

"Even after giving you money and you want a place to nurture your business, you can come to the incubator," he added.

The engagement seeks to enlighten stakeholders on the activities of the Collaborative, and garner ideas for efficient execution of the project's ideals.

About Mastercard Foundation Health Collaborative

The objectives of the Higher Education Collaborative in Health are to Build and strengthen the capacity of healthcare students and professionals to meet the growing demand for Primary Health Care (PHC) in the health sector; Enable students to acquire advanced skills in Africa across a broad range of disciplines critical for sustainable health sector growth and transformation; Optimize entrepreneurial ecosystems in and through universities in Africa to launch and scale health start-ups to create jobs; Develop a dynamic, sustainable, long-term network of leading African universities, alumni, government agencies, health care start-ups, and private sector partners working together to create dignified and fulfilling jobs across health ecosystems.

The project will further develop a dynamic, sustainable, long-term network of leading African universities, alumni and government agencies, healthcare start-ups, and private sector partners working together to create dignified and fulfilling jobs across health ecosystems in the next ten years.

KNUST is one of the eight partners of the Higher Education Collaborative in Health with the aim to contribute to all three pillars of the health strategy: Health Employment, Health Entrepreneurship, and Health Ecosystems.