Are you passionate about improving the quality of life through innovation?
Every day, millions of people face health challenges that affect how they move, work, care for their families, and enjoy life. These challenges, whether in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or daily care, can limit independence, comfort, and opportunities for a better life.
That's where innovation comes in. By developing new tools, devices, and solutions, we can make healthcare more accessible, effective, and human-centered, helping people live healthier, longer, and more independent lives.
We are calling on innovators, engineers, researchers, startups, and health practitioners with ideas and solutions to apply for the PDP Program.
If your solution can help people live better and longer, this call is for you.
What Type of Innovations Do We Support?
Devices that Improve daily living
Devices for early detection
Devices that improve access to care
Devices that support treatment & care delivery
Devices designed for local context (Tanzania)
What are the Benefits of Incubating with Us
Access the Best in Product Development
The PDP incubation program offers innovators hands-on access to advanced prototyping facilities, machines, and equipment designed to support the full medical device development journey from early concepts to MVPs and commercialization-ready solutions.Our facilities are purpose-built to enable local development of healthcare and medical device innovations, reducing dependency on external manufacturing and allowing faster iteration, testing, and refinement. Innovators can move confidently through prototyping, functional testing, and validation with the support of our technical team, who provide continuous guidance across the product development lifecycle.
By combining up to USD 3,000 in in-kind support, access to specialized tools, and expert technical mentorship, PDP significantly lowers early-stage development barriers and accelerates product readiness for real-world impact.
All Rounded Support From Experts
Innovators in the PDP program benefit from a strong, multidisciplinary support system powered by a diverse network of partners and experts across healthcare, life sciences, research, makerspaces, regulatory, legal business development. Each cohort is intentionally designed around the specific needs of participating startups. We actively bring in partners, mentors, and facilitators who can provide targeted expertise, whether in clinical validation, research support, engineering, manufacturing, regulatory insight, or market entry.
This dynamic ecosystem ensures innovators are not working in isolation. Instead, they gain access to practical insights, industry connections, and collaborative opportunities that strengthen both the solution and the innovator’s journey.
Incubation and Business Modelling Support
Beyond technical development, PDP provides structured incubation and business support to help innovators turn promising ideas into viable, sustainable healthcare ventures.
Through a comprehensive and flexible curriculum, innovators receive guidance in:
- Human-centered design to ensure solutions are grounded in real user needs
- Business modeling and value proposition development
- Legal, ethical, and regulatory considerations relevant to healthcare and medical devices
- Pathways to sustainability and scale
Our incubation approach is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, the program is customized to the stage, context, and needs of each startup, ensuring that teams receive the right support at the right time to move confidently toward implementation and impact.
What are the Qualifications to Join the Program?
Healthcare Focus
Innovation should address critical healthcare challenges with relevance to improving the quality of life for people in Tanzania.
Potential for Impact
The solution should demonstrate potential for growth and improving health outcomes for the larger community.
Early Stage Projects
Consideration will be put to projects at an early stage, with at least a prototype and beyond, presenting potential and feasibility.
Open to Collaborating
Willing to adhere to the PDP principles and collaborate with mentors, innovators, and adapt to feedback for project success.
Your Team
A diverse team with a minimum of two members with complementary skill sets for the project. A gender balanced team is an added advantage.
Legal and Ethical
Adhere to ethical standards, ensuring patient confidentiality and data privacy while also complying to legal and regulatory requirements in Tanzania.
Deadline:
Incase of any inquiries, feel free to reach out to our partnership teams on admin@ifakarahub.or.tz or
call +255 745 910 577
