Thirty early-stage health startups are pitching for funding this week as the KNUST Africa Health Collaborative in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation steps up efforts to expand youth-led health innovation in Ghana.

Now in its third year, the pitch competition attracted more than 500 applications, organisers said.

“Thirty standout businesses were shortlisted to pitch,” Professor Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah, Lead of the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar noted. “We expect to fund about 15 of them, with grants ranging from USD 10,000 to USD 15,000.”

The three-day event will feature 12 pitches each on Day One and Day Two, before six finalists take the stage on Thursday.

Participants were drawn from three major AHC pipelines: KNUST students trained under the Sustainable Business Start-Up (SBS) programme; nursing and midwifery trainees across 70 KNUST-affiliated health institutions; and primary healthcare innovators working in settings such as CHPS compounds.

Professor Owusu-Ansah said support for entrepreneurs goes far beyond grant funding.

“We operate a no-closed-door policy. Even the 15 businesses that may not receive funding will still receive mentorship, coaching, and wraparound support to refine and scale their ideas,” he said.

He added that successful applicants will be guided through regulatory processes, formal business registration and management training, backed by an additional support fund.

Opening the competition, Professor Ahmed Agyapong, Dean of the KNUST School of Business, praised the shortlisted entrepreneurs, calling the programme “highly competitive” and urging participants to be bold in their presentations.

He said initiatives such as the pitch competition have become catalysts for strengthening youth innovation and improving healthcare delivery in Ghana and across Africa.

Prof. Agyapong also reaffirmed the School of Business’s commitment to supporting AHC programmes and advancing collaborations that empower students, health workers and early-stage innovators.