Spark Health Africa
Spark Health Africa
Sector Portfolios
- Afya (Health)
Focus Areas
- Health
- Education
Cohort 05 (2026)
- Southern Africa
- South Africa
Spark Health Africa was founded on a belief formed by years of witnessing: that many preventable deaths in African healthcare systems trace back not to a lack of resources or training, but to something harder to see. The clinics, the long lines, the equipment are visible. The culture, the belief systems, the invisible drivers of how a health system actually performs are not. Since 2010, the organization has worked not around African Ministries of Health but inside them, using leadership development, on-the-job coaching, and collective impact methods to shift the internal culture that determines whether a health system actually functions for the people relying on it.
Its flagship Transformative Leadership and Culture Change program equips national and subnational health management teams across Sub-Saharan Africa with skills in strategic leadership, problem-solving, and systems improvement through tailored training, coaching, and peer learning. To date, Spark Health Africa has trained nearly 2,000 public health managers across nine countries and reached over 4,000 additional health workers through a co-opting model, with measurable improvements in medicine and supply availability, as well as health outcomes as a result. The organization also supports the scaling of locally developed public sector innovations and convenes governments, implementing partners, and cross-sector stakeholders through its Collective Impact Program to align resources and coordinate action toward stronger health outcomes.
Partner Impact
IMPACT STORIES
Leadership Highlight
Richard Chivaka
Founder and CEO
Richard is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Spark Health Africa, an organization dedicated to strengthening public healthcare systems and improving the lives of communities across Africa. Driven by a passion for creating sustainable impact for future generations, he has spent more than 15 years working at the intersection of business, health, and government to design and scale high-impact programs across multiple countries. Under Richard’s leadership, Spark Health Africa has supported health systems strengthening initiatives in Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. He also led the organization’s transition from a specialized unit within the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business into an independent organization, building strong partnerships with African governments and global partners, including Johnson & Johnson.
In addition to his executive role, Richard is an Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, where he teaches Business Strategy and Supply Chain Management. He is widely recognized for his expertise in value chain innovation, operations management, and organizational development. He has also served as a Visiting Professor and inaugural Research Scholar at Stanford Graduate School of Business’s SEED program, supporting African entrepreneurs to grow sustainable businesses.
Richard is an experienced consultant who has advised organizations including Nestlé, Ernst & Young, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. He holds a PhD in Accounting from the University of Cape Town.
Chipo Mupure
Chief Operating Officer
Chipo is a seasoned operations and systems improvement leader with more than 10 years of experience driving transformative change across multiple industries in Africa. Passionate about continuous improvement and empowering people to solve complex challenges, she has dedicated much of her career to strengthening public sector health systems and management teams. She also contributes to executive education through occasional teaching engagements at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.
Currently serving as Chief Operating Officer at Spark Health Africa, Chipo leads the operationalisation of the organisation’s strategy by overseeing internal operations, financial and cashflow management, and stakeholder engagement. Since joining Spark Health Africa in 2013, she has progressed from Systems Improvement Advisor to Director of Programs and now COO, successfully leading programmes across South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, and Zimbabwe while managing key donor relationships.
Before Spark Health Africa, Chipo worked with Maersk Line as Regional Process Excellence Partner, where she introduced lean thinking and Six Sigma methodologies to improve operational efficiency across Africa. She also served as a Research Associate with Lean Institute Africa, leading healthcare improvement projects that reduced patient turnaround times in South African public hospitals. Chipo holds a Master’s degree in Applied Sciences from the University of Cape Town, an Honours degree in Biochemistry from the University of Zimbabwe, and is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.
