Strengthening Collaboration: Million Lives Collective and Grand Challenges Canada Expand Partnership in East Africa
June, 2023
We are thrilled to announce that Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), with funding from Global Affairs Canada, is supporting the establishment of a new Million Lives Collective (MLC) Regional Hub in East Africa. This expansion aims to foster collaboration with local partners, deepen connections within regional ecosystems, and drive large-scale adoption of groundbreaking innovations.
“We are proud to support the creation of the Million Lives Collective Regional Hub in East Africa - Through this new hub, we hope to identify, support and scale innovations that are addressing pressing health challenges and the specific needs articulated by public health systems across the continent.”
The Regional Hubs will serve as vital bridges between the MLC and local ecosystems, actively identifying and promoting innovations that address regional development challenges. They will provide tailored support to innovators and act as trusted advisors to potential adopters. By being embedded within country and regional networks, the Regional Hubs will maximize opportunities for sourcing innovations, connecting innovators, and facilitating learning among stakeholders.
“We at the Million Lives Collective are thrilled to have the support of Grand Challenges Canada as we enter this exciting new phase of our work. The establishment of the first MLC Regional Hub, in East Africa, will greatly enhance our ability to source impactful, evidenced innovations. Crucially, it will also unlock new opportunities to deliver value to our MLC Members, aligned with their unique local contexts, and to support them on their scaling journeys.”
This regional expansion enables the Million Lives Collective to offer greater access to impactful innovations while providing in-country support to actors embedded in local ecosystems. This strategic collaboration, enabled by the support from Grand Challenges Canada, has been instrumental in bringing this vision and expansion to life. In the upcoming weeks, the MLC will announce its first Regional Hub partner based in East Africa, following a competitive tender process. Stay tuned for some exciting developments!
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About the Million Lives Collective:
The Million Lives Collective (MLC) is a global network of organizations committed to promoting proven, impactful innovations and supporting their scale-up to address global development challenges. Since its launch in 2019, the MLC has identified over 100 innovations, including 36 health innovations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. The MLC focuses on aggregating and verifying innovations, promoting their scale-up, connecting members to supply/demand matchmakers and funding opportunities, and capturing insights on the scaling process through peer-to-peer learning and case studies. It is managed by Results for Development (R4D).
About Grand Challenges Canada:
Grand Challenges Canada is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact®. Funded by the Government of Canada and other partners, Grand Challenges Canada funds innovators in low- and middle-income countries and Canada. The bold ideas Grand Challenges Canada supports integrate science and technology, social and business innovation—known as Integrated Innovation®.
One of the largest impact-first investors in Canada, Grand Challenges Canada has supported a pipeline of over 1,500 innovations in 96 countries. Grand Challenges Canada estimates that these innovations have the potential to save up to 1.78 million lives and improve up to 64 million lives by 2030.
