Collaborations & Sponsorships

The Africa Young Innovators for Health Award is the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and Speak Up Africa‘s flagship program focused on supporting young health entrepreneurs across the African continent by providing them with the necessary tools to advance their promising healthcare solutions for the betterment of their communities.

For aspiring health innovators, safeguarding their groundbreaking ideas is essential. As a proud supporter and sponsor of these awards, Adams & Adams provides expert guidance and advice to all the winners, with a specific focus on how to protect their valuable IP.

As a firm committed to play our part in the realisation of the continent’s potential, we are proud to have partnered with Johnson & Johnson, a long-standing client of the firm, as a sponsor of the Africa Innovation Challenge.

The inaugural Challenge was launched in 2016 in recognition of the fact that less than 50% of African’s had access to modern healthcare services. The aim of the Challenge was to identify and support Africa-based entrepreneurs who were developing creative healthcare products and services. It focused on innovations related to three target areas, these being early child development and maternal health, empowering young girls and overall family well-being. Finalists were provided with funding and mentorship by Johnson & Johnson. Our sponsorship included pro bono IP and legal services to the winners to protect their intellectual property and assist in creating a sustainable business which could address Africa’s healthcare needs.

As part of our continued efforts to empower startups and disseminate information about the benefits of IP, Adams & Adams is proud to have partnered with Qualcomm in launching L2Pro Africa. This is a free online training program designed to empower African startups selected as finalists in the Qualcomm Make in Africa initiative. It is aimed at assisting SMEs and researchers to protect, secure, and maximize their innovations by understanding the IP systems of the countries where they are based and being empowered with information which will enable them to use the IP systems to benefit their innovations and business endeavours .

As the first initiative of its kind in Africa, the Qualcomm “Make in Africa” program offers a groundbreaking, equity-free mentorship initiative aimed at empowering African start-ups dedicated to community-driven innovation. This program provides selected start-ups with comprehensive mentorship, education, and training in transformative technologies, with a strong focus on 5G, Edge AI, machine learning, computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Each year, ten promising start-ups from across the continent are chosen to receive tailored support, including technical, business, and intellectual property (IP) guidance. As a proud partner, Adams & Adams contributes $2,500 in IP support to the winners, championing innovation and sustainable growth across Africa. Click her to view the startups for both the 2023 and 2024 program Qualcomm Make in Africa | Qualcomm

The Inventor Assistance Program (IAP) supports inventors and small businesses with limited resources to transform their innovation into commercial assets. Adams & Adams assists by providing patent drafting and prosecution services on a pro bono basis to beneficiaries and Africa and South Africa, to help them navigate the patent system at no cost. Click here to read more about this project.