The next health tech giants won’t come from Silicon Valley

In several African countries, startups and organizations are developing digital health solutions directly in response to concrete gaps in care – mobile-first, data-driven, and directly aligned with users’ needs. Instead of prioritizing bureaucracy and regulation, entirely new approaches are being built that put users first: patients and healthcare professionals. This kind of “leapfrogging” challenges many assumptions that are often taken for granted in Western healthcare systems. It also offers an opportunity to learn, especially as Europe is currently reshaping its framework towards a more user-centric approach through the European Health Data Space. This can help create an ecosystem in which innovations from other parts of the world can flourish, and where Europe can demonstrate how system approaches and innovation can grow together by focusing on people.

This is especially important as, at the same time, a clear pattern is emerging: those who control digital infrastructure and data – from platforms to cloud services to payment systems – increasingly hold the foundation for new innovation and research, and can shape access to healthcare services. Digital health is therefore not just about care delivery, but also about power, dependencies, and shifting global markets.

The panel will explore concrete real-world examples: what is already working, and why? Where do these models reach their limits? And what can Europe actually learn and contribute?