The Ivorian start-up “La Ruche Health”, founded by Rory Assandey, has been named the 2025 Grand Laureate of the Galien Africa Award for the Best Medical Technology and Innovation.

The announcement was made on October 21, 2025, in Dakar, Senegal, by the co-chairs of the Jury, Dr. John Nkengasong and Professor Souleymane Mboup, ahead of the 8th Galien Africa Forum, scheduled from October 28 to 31 under the theme “Health Sovereignty: An Imperative for Africa.”

The Galien Africa Award celebrates excellence and innovation among researchers, institutions, and pharmaceutical industries—both public and private—that have developed outstanding initiatives, products, or technologies recently introduced to the African market in areas such as biotechnology, herbal medicine, diagnostics, medical devices, and digital health.

Winning a 20 million FCFA grant, La Ruche Health is a Francophone African digital health company dedicated to improving access to healthcare for marginalized populations, particularly women, youth, and low-income communities. Its flagship innovation is a mobile platform connecting users to licensed healthcare providers and culturally relevant services, leveraging behavioral science and real-time data to deliver personalized care.

Since its launch, La Ruche Health has reached more than 75,000 users in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, offering on-demand services in mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and primary care, with a strong focus on emotional well-being.

This year, the Galien Africa Award will also present two Special Career Achievement Prizes to honor the contributions of Dr. Michael Makanga (Uganda), Executive Director of Global Health EDCTP3, and Ms. Adji Bousso Dieng (Senegal), Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University.

No awards were granted this year in the categories of Best Pharmaceutical Product, Best Traditional Medicine Product, and Best Biotechnological Product.

The 2025 Galien Africa Award Ceremony will take place during the closing session of the 8th Galien Africa Forum, which will gather more than 2,000 participants—including experts, policymakers, community leaders, private sector representatives, and development partners to discuss the challenges and opportunities surrounding Africa’s health sovereignty. 

The organization of the 2025 Galien Africa Awards is made possible with support from the Presidency of Senegal, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the West African Health Organization (WAHO), and The Rockefeller Foundation, among others.