While substantial progress has been made in health facility electrification in recent times, challenges persist, particularly in regions with weak infrastructure and limited financial resources.
The business-as-usual approach is proving inadequate and out of date. The sector is lagging behind in the adoption of new ideas and innovations that can help it scale and become more sustainable.
The Powering Healthcare Innovation Fund is a small-grants facility, offering grants aimed at unlocking out-of-the-box opportunities and ideas, thereby growing innovation in the sector. This initiative is funded with UK aid from the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access Initiative (TEA) programme.
Round 2
The second funding cycle of the Powering Healthcare Innovation Fund is now open. The fund will offer 3-6 grantees funding of up to USD 80,000 per grantee for a maximum of 10 months. The total available funding this cycle is USD 300,000.
Proposed innovations can be from, but not limited to, the following fields:
- Support or capacity building to organisations or entities involved in HFE initiatives (e.g. business development support or technical training)
- New financing models or mechanisms (e.g. de-risking of investments)
- Operations and maintenance or longer-term sustainability mechanisms
- Research projects with universities
- New ways of running health facilities (e.g. management, logistics)
- Feasibility studies or assessments (e.g. on energy efficiency or climate resilience)
- Data (e.g. how to collect and analyse better data, or the use of AI)
For more details, please read the complete call for proposals here. The deadline for the submission of proposals is 17:00 CEST on 8th September 2025. For any questions, please email alika@unops.org with the subject line ‘Queries: PHC Innovation Fund’.
Winners of the Innovation Fund Round 1
BSUL is installing biogas generators to provide power for lighting, sterilising medical equipment, running medical refrigerators and laboratories in three off-grid health facilities in the Imvepi Refugee Settlement. Together with Inclusive Energy, who are providing and manage digital data tools to monitor biogas usage, they will also train health facility managers to use biogas safely.
The Masontsika Bazary (Powerhub), a hybrid model combining Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) and Pico PV Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) systems, is being installed in 12 health facilities in off-grid villages. The solar system will power medical equipment while also charging solar pico lights that the community can rent on a PAYGO basis and enabling a mobile charging station for the public, providing income to the health facilities for operating the Bazary.
Newdigit’s 'Just Add Water' zero-emission electrical generators, leverage highly efficient Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell technology and solar panels, to provide reliable electricity and medical grade oxygen for patient life support. They will be installed at three hospitals in Lagos and Ogun State, who will pay a monthly fee for electricity on a lease-to-own basis.
