Vula founder and CEO Dr William Mapham has been selected as one of 15 entrepreneurs in the 2026 Reckitt Catalyst cohort, alongside founders from across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The cohort includes entrepreneurs working across health, hygiene and sanitation, from improving access to diagnostics in remote communities to developing more inclusive sanitation solutions.

The selection brings Vula into the wider Reckitt Catalyst community of 100 social innovators, supported through a programme with an ambition to improve access to health and hygiene for five million people by 2030.

What is Reckitt Catalyst?

Reckitt Catalyst is a global initiative created to help social entrepreneurs take proven, locally developed solutions further.

Launched as a five-year commitment by Reckitt, the programme aims to support up to 200 female and underrepresented founders by 2030 through a combination of funding, mentorship, expertise and access to networks. It is delivered in partnership with Yunus Social Innovation, Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx) and Acumen America.

The focus is not simply on finding new ideas. It is on helping solutions that already understand the communities they serve build the capacity, partnerships and reach needed to scale.

An opportunity to learn as well as scale

Being selected for Reckitt Catalyst is therefore not only recognition of what Vula has already achieved. It also creates an opportunity to learn from entrepreneurs solving very different problems in very different markets.

The Catalyst model brings founders into contact with mentors, specialists, partners and other social entrepreneurs. Reckitt describes the programme as combining business expertise, mentorship and partnerships to help innovators strengthen and expand solutions that are already creating impact in their communities.

We are proud to see William and Vula representing South African health innovation within the 2026 cohort, and excited to see what comes next.