Health Direct Global, a health-tech startup based in Accra was part of three African startups that were awarded at the just ended Japan/Africa Pitch Competition. The event which was held during the TICAD 7 Summit in Yokohama saw 24 tech startups from Africa and Japan go head-to-head in an impressive battle of technological innovation, business models and social impact. The event headline was Africa/Japan Startups Pitch: Innovation and New Partnership for SDGs. The Competition was organized by the United Nations Development Program in partnership with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).  The startups were selected through a call for applications opened in May this year. After receiving over 500 applications from across Africa, the organizers carried out a strict selection process which involved online interviews, due diligence and background checks. The seven best startups were selected based on specific criteria to participate in the pitch event. Another partner organization, CcHub selected 10 African deep-tech startups under the Pitchdrive Asia tour which involved a tour of five different countries with stops in Japan, South Korea, China, and Hongkong. Seven Japanese startups with solutions focused on the African continent also participated in the Pitch competition, bringing the total number of competing teams to 24. At the end of the jury deliberation, three startups were each awarded by three sponsoring companies. Health Direct Global a Ghanaian health-tech company which provides a multi-sided platform that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and biometric-based Electronic Health Records.  They match their records to match users to Health Service Providers in real-time and a blockchain-based payments infrastructure to provide alternative healthcare financing for urban, peri-urban and people at the bottom of the pyramid Health Direct won the PwC Japan Prize for Business Model, Innovation and Scalability while Casky, a Moroccan safety IoT-enabled personal road safety device for motorbikes won the Marubeni Prize for Logistics and Mobility. Chefaa from Egypt, which provides a prescription based solution that helps patients order, schedule and refills their recurring medicine in a GPS-enabled 3-step user journey won the AAIC-sponsored Prize for Social Innovation. Health Direct was recently selected onto the Ghana-Oracle Digital Enterprise Program (GODEP).  The Program is a part of The Oracle Global Startup Ecosystem, Oracle’s program for entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide and is the first of its kind on the African continent.