Africa's Future in Clinical Research
The African Clinical Research Network (ACRN) is focused on strengthening Africa’s biomedical and life sciences industry. The network aims to enhance Africa’s ability to conduct clinical trials across all therapeutic areas ranging from cardiometabolic disease, oncology, hematology, neurology, nephrology to infectious diseases maternal & child health while fostering local scientific leadership and operational excellence. EIT, in partnership with Oracle, is strengthening ACRN’s digital infrastructure by delivering world-class clinical trial solutions and enabling the integration of AI to transform clinical research across Africa.
Dr Tariro Makadzange
“ACRN was built to unlock the continent’s potential, accelerate lifesaving research and centre African leadership in science and innovation.”
Global trials miss the mark without Africa
Africa is home to over 18% of the world’s population, but fewer than 3% of global clinical trials. Without inclusive research, the world risks developing treatments that do not reflect diverse populations.
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7countries and 19 sites
ACRN has scaled rapidly across East, West, and Southern Africa.
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65+staff and growing
Local experts in clinical operations, data, labs, and regulatory science.
5studies active or launching
Spanning maternal and child health, HIV and epidemiology studies.
Bridging the divide in global health equity
For decades, Africa has been underrepresented in the global clinical trial landscape - not due to lack of need or talent, but due to fragmented infrastructure, funding silos, and inconsistent engagement from the pharmaceutical industry. ACRN exists to change that, creating a unified platform that links sites, builds local capacity, and derisks industry collaboration at scale.
Underrepresentation in research
Only 2–3% of global trials are conducted in Africa, limiting data on diverse populations.
Regulatory strengthening
Increasing number of African national regulatory authorities have progressed toward WHO ML3 benchmarks, with growing momentum for regulatory harmonization across the continent.
Health Systems Strengthening
Research integrating clinical research into care to broaden therapeutic areas of investigation and strengthen health systems.
Workforce development
Africa has talent - but training pipelines and research career pathways remain underfunded.
Community Engagement
Building trust through inclusive partnerships
Africa-led, globally aligned
ACRN's model harnesses African leadership to deliver world class clinical trials. We align infrastructure, labs, data, and training under one umbrella - while advocating for regulatory harmonization and digital transformation.
Using mobile-first data tools and health foundation models to stratify patients into research-ready cohorts.
Strengthening clinical trial sites with the tools, training and systems to succeed.
Supporting multi-country submissions with national regulatory agencies, and sponsor engagement.
Partnering with industry to train, provide mentorship, and specialist roles that aim to retain African talent in research.
A passionate, pan-African team of experts
Meet the team driving Africa’s research future:
We’re gathering the greatest minds
EIT is growing rapidly and we are recruiting at pace. Thrive in a dynamic and fast-paced work environment, learning and growing every day alongside experts in science and technology.