Joanna Bichsel is the Founder and CEO of Kasha, the leading digital commerce and last-mile delivery platform in Africa focused on health products and household goods. In this episode, Joanna shares how Kasha was born and scaled across nine countries to deliver over 110 million products. We unpack the tactics that have allowed her to scale her impact, including the varied and sometimes unlikely partnerships she’s needed to balance. Tune in to hear how this technology startup partnered with the government of Rwanda to create access to emergency contraceptives for young women, and how Kasha is working with global life sciences companies like Roche to help more women access breast cancer treatment.

This episode features insights from Jörg-Michael Rupp, who oversees Roche’s work in over 100 countries. Roche is an industry leader and global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives around the world. This episode was recorded live at Africa Tech Festival 2025 in Cape Town, one of the continent’s largest gatherings of industry leaders, startups, and investors.

In This Episode

(00m54s) Meet Joanna and Kasha. Joanna Bichsel is the founder and CEO of Kasha, a fast-growing health access platform transforming how medicines and essential goods reach people across Africa.

(06m56s) Origin Story. Joanna shares the unexpected path that led her from Microsoft Corporation and the Gates Foundation to launching a startup in Rwanda.

(12m11s) Early Fundraising is a Struggle. Joanna recounts the brutal early months of trying to raise capital as a first-time female founder in Africa—and the mindset she needed to keep moving forward even when quitting would have been so much easier.

(17m03s) Partnering with the Government of Rwanda to Create Access to Emergency Contraception. Scaling healthcare requires more than technology—it demands collaboration with governments and policymakers. Joanna explains how Kasha, as a tech startup, is well-suited to managing real-time data and on-the-ground insights. This is the value they were uniquely positioned to provide the Government of Rwanda in order to inform national policy to expand access to emergency contraception for young women.

(21m53s) Partnering with the Global Pharmaceutical Company Roche. Joanna unpacks Kasha’s partnership with Roche and how collaboration with industry-leading pharmaceutical companies can dramatically improve access to life-saving medicines. Together, Kasha and Roche have developed innovative financing and distribution models to make breast cancer treatments more affordable for patients.

(28m54s) The Problem with Impact Investors. Joanna shares her candid and controversial perspective on impact investing in Africa. She challenges investors not only to build scalable businesses but also to take a long hard look at the double burden forced upon social enterprises by unrealistic impact metrics.

(34m45s) Perspectives from Roche. Jörg-Michael Rupp, who oversees Roche’s work in over 100 countries and is one of Kasha’s partners, elaborates on why solving healthcare access requires collaboration across industries. No single organization can solve healthcare challenges alone, but together we can dramatically expand patient access to treatment.

(36m57s) Stronger together. Breast cancer advocate Dr. Carol Benn highlights the real-world complexity of tackling women’s health challenges. She explains why meaningful progress depends on honest collaboration between governments, clinicians, innovators, and the private sector—even and especially when the roadmap ahead is unclear.

If you enjoyed this conversation about healthcare access at the last mile, check out these related podcasts: The Medicine Supply Chain in Africa and The Future of Pharmacy with Remedial Health.

Key Quotes

“Success in business in Africa is staying alive and continuing to go on.” — Joanna Bichsel

“If we put the patient in the center of the solution and collaborate, we can solve these challenges together.” — Jörg-Michael Rupp

“Impact doesn’t come from ignoring the market. It comes from understanding it.” — Rowena Luk

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In today’s episode, we’ll hear from Dr. Carol Benn, an industry-leading surgeon and advocate setting the standard for breast cancer care in South Africa; Dr. Kathryn Malherbe, the founder of Medsol AI using AI to detect breast cancer earlier; Thom Renwick, Head of Roche South Africa; and Maturin Tchoumi, Head of Roche, Africa.

In This Episode

* (3m33s) Dr. Carol Benn is challenging the old guard of breast cancer care. A trauma surgeon turned breast cancer pioneer, Dr. Benn recounts how she pushed back against outdated medical norms in South Africa — empowering women to stand up for their own bodies.

* (8m23s) Fear holds us back. Why do so many women delay screening? From mistrust of healthcare systems to myths about age and pain, Dr. Benn explains how fear — not ignorance — often stands between women and early detection.

* (10m38s) 65% of people with breast cancer have no symptoms. Many women diagnosed do everything “right.” Dr. Benn dismantles how the demographics of breast cancer are changing.

* (11m24s) Thom Renwick of Roche South Africa unpacks the hidden economic toll of breast cancer. Beyond the human tragedy, late-stage breast cancer is draining African economies — with billions lost in productivity and families destabilized when women in their prime are forced out of the workforce.

* (13m59s) Maturin Tchoumi, Head of Roche in Africa, believes technology is a force multiplier. From mobile banking to mobile health, Maturin argues that digital innovation can unlock massive efficiency gains in healthcare.

* (15m25s) Dr. Kathryn Malherbe of Medsol AI became frustrated after seeing too many young women arrive too late for treatment. A mammographer turned entrepreneur, she built an AI-powered ultrasound tool that’s over 90% accurate and dramatically more affordable — bringing screening closer to the communities that need it most

* (23m58s) “You have to believe in what you’re doing.” Facing regulatory hurdles, funding gaps, and institutional resistance, Dr. Malherbe reflects on the conviction required to build in African healthcare — and why unwavering belief is sometimes a founder’s greatest asset.

Show Notes

* Medsol AI, founded by Dr. Kathryn Malherbe, is building AI-powered ultrasound diagnostics to expand breast cancer screening at the primary care level. Early studies show the solution is over 90% accurate and dramatically more affordable.

* The Socioeconomic Burden of HER2+ Breast Cancer in Africa: A report by the WifOR Institute examining seven African countries estimated $10.3 billion in productivity losses over five years due to late diagnosis and under-treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.

* The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer is an excellent recounting of the modern history of cancer, including breast cancer. Among other topics, it lays bare the devastating effects of radical mastectomy on breast cancer patients, and how rapidly science and technology to tackle cancers have evolved in the past few decades.

* The Africa Breast Cancer Council is a pan-African coalition chaired by Dr. Carol Benn, working to improve breast cancer awareness, policy alignment, and standards of care across the continent.

* Netcare Milpark Breast Care Centre of Excellence is one of only three breast care centres outside the United States accredited under the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), setting a global benchmark for multidisciplinary breast care.

* Africa Tech Festival – Healthcare Track: This episode was recorded live at Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, where a dedicated healthcare innovation track highlighted the intersection of digital transformation and public health.

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In This Episode

* (2m48s) How HearX evolved from a research project at the University of Pretoria to a high-growth startup

* (4m34s) Crisis of faith: can we do more than just send children into a broken healthcare system?

* (8m13s) Landing the partnership with Bose, the global industry leader in consumer audio

* (11m20s) Breakthrough: expanding our reach from South Africa to the world

* (16m08s) “We went up against the industry giants, larger bank accounts, big law firms… and we won.”

* (19m32s) The year we almost didn’t make it

* (22m47s) Rapid-fire questions and advice for founders

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Africa Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world.

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Show Notes

* Nic Klopper is CEO at LXE Hearing (previously HearX & Lexie Hearing). His experience ranges from being an avid start-up investor to founding 7 successful businesses and exiting 3 of them to date. As the co-founder and CEO of HearX Group and Lexie Hearing, Nic has been the driving force behind a transformative shift in the hearing health industry. He has guided the company from early-stage healthtech startup to a multimillion-dollar enterprise with products now available in 38 countries.

* Seline van der Wat is the Chief Strategy Officer at LXE Hearing (previously hearX & Lexie Hearing). Under her leadership, the company was recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential Companies in the World list in 2023, for hearX’s groundbreaking work in hearing health accessibility. Seline has transformed companies into first-to-market and best-in-market giants through her strategic and organizational development expertise.

* Vula Mobile, founded by Dr. William Mapham, was an early collaborator with HearX. In 2018 with support from the Google Impact Challenge, Vula Mobile and HearX partnered to screen children in Gauteng for vision and hearing. This led to the epiphany at HearX that they needed to do more than just screen for hearing loss; they needed to play a direct role in increasing access to hearing aids.

* Seline’s shoutout goes to Ilara Health and its CEO Emilian Poppa for Ilara’s work to improve financing and access to diagnostics at scale for clinics across Kenya.

* Seline’s second shoutout goes to Jonathan Berkowitz at MotionsAds, which provides additional income to drivers in the gig economy (like Uber Eats) through advertising.

This conversation was recorded live in November of 2024 at a Toniic gathering in Cape Town, South Africa. Toniic is a global community of individual, family office, and foundation asset owners seeking deeper impact with their investments and their lives.

In This Episode

* (2m46s) What is the Africa opportunity?

* (8m19s) Myth: “Africa is a single market.” What does it mean to invest across 54 countries?

* (13m28s) Myth: “There are no exits in Africa.” How do investors make a profit from putting capital into African businesses?

* (18m57s) Myth: “Political instability makes it impossible to invest in Africa.” What trade agreements, regulatory environment, and political context enable private investments to succeed in Africa?

* (22m15s) Myth: “There is a shortage of talent in Africa.” Where can investors find world-class founders?

* (28m43s) How can you get started investing in Africa?

* (30m12s) Recap

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Show Notes

About Bongani Sithole and 54 Collective

As Chief Executive Officer of 54 Collective, Bongani Sithole is a tech-entrepreneur who over the last 18 years has built 3 technology businesses from the ground up. Before joining 54 Collective, Bongani’s last company — Black Beard — built tech businesses on behalf of corporates. As CEO, Bongani leads the early-stage investor as it seeks to invest in, collaborate, and support founders to go beyond borders and make a discernible impact through commercially-orientated innovations that can sustainably improve the lives of the continent’s people. 54 Collective is Africa’s most active, hands-on, early stage venture capital investor.

About Lelemba Phiri and ATG Samata

Lelemba is a Co-founder and Partner at ATG Samata, a gender-lens venture capital firm that is focused on investing in women-led businesses and gender diverse teams in key markets in Southern, East and West Africa. She is a seasoned development finance expert with 18+ years of experience working in both public and private sector, across 10 markets+. This includes having been a key part of scaling a Fintech start-up from one market to five before moving from entrepreneurship into venture capital. She is an expert in gender-lens investing, innovative finance, and entrepreneurship development with a key focus on advancing women.

About Christophe de Montille and Beyond Capital Ventures

Christophe de Montille is a Principal at Beyond Capital Ventures, a multi-asset firm investing in Seed to Series A companies across India and Africa in need-to-have sectors such as financial services, healthcare and climate. Prior to joining Beyond Capital, Christophe worked for a decade as a management consultant leading large tech transformations for corporate and federal clients. In addition to his work at Beyond Capital, Christophe led transaction advisory work for over 30 deals in the Global South and mobilizing over $54M in capital.

About Toniic

Toniic is a global community of private asset owners seeking to steward wealth and use influence to enable a thriving world. Its members — individuals, family offices and foundations from more than 25 countries — are active impact investors and philanthropists, for whom Toniic provides education, investment opportunities, impact support, events, and community. Toniic also seeks to build the field of deep impact investing, moving money and mindsets and leading by example.

This is a healthcare success story at a time when the vast majority of investments in Africa are in fintech. It's also a deeptech victory at a time when most of the world is skeptical about whether deeptech can even be built, let alone scaled, in Africa.

So how did a math geek from Tunisia bootstrap a company that captured the hearts and minds of a continent? Tune in to find out.

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In This Episode

* (3m16s) Start with passion. Passion will carry you through the years when you don’t know whether it’s going to work out or not. Passion will draw others to back you and keep on backing you, even when times are tough.

* (6m18s) Engineering exits is a delicate balancing act between short and long-term goals.

* (7m19s) How to navigate the hard balance between short-term profitability and long-term ambition? It took InstaDeep 5 years to build DeepPCB, which is now the best in the world in its product class.

* (9m08s) Deliver 10X value in your partnerships. This will harden the relationships that lead to clients, to investors, and to exits.

* (10m47s) How do we build investable talent in Africa? The journey to unlock African talent begins with the founder. Make yourself a world-class expert; pursue your vision with passion; and create the environment to grow and attract industry-leading talent.

* (15m04s) AI, biotech, and the future: we are today with Biology AI where LLMs were in 2020. The golden age of biology AI and biotech is just beginning. African founders have an unparalleled opportunity to build the data assets of the future.

* (18m15s) Do not limit yourself. Many African founders suffer from a failure of ambition. Think global from day one.

Show Notes

* InstaDeep: The Early Days: this article from Rest of World covers some of the early ventures and misadventures of Karim Beguir

* Born in Tatouine: from a remote city in Tunisia, how Karim rose to the global stage

* Google’s 2014 acquisition of DeepMind was an early inspiration to Karim in founding InstaDeep

* BioNTech announced its acquisition of InstaDeep in 2023

* Nucleotide Transformer is InstaDeep’s industry-leading genomics Language Models. In 2023 they released these models open-source to HuggingFace

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).

This is the fourth and final episode of our series on AI for Health. Thank you to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.

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Show Notes

In this interview, we cover:

* (2m56s) - An introduction to MomConnect, South Africa’s maternal health chatbot.

* (9m30s) - What is the future of MomConnect? Debbie looks ahead to how AI will allow chatbots to address the specific and personal needs of mothers across South Africa. This hyper-personalization will unlock behaviour change and precision health at scale.

* (13m53s) - IDInsight has supported MomConnect to better understand what mothers need when they interact with MomConnect and guide them to the right information. They are using AI to infer meaning from words i.e. intent classification.

* (17m07s) - Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT will allow the average citizen to better understand and tap into government programs and benefits. Sid cites the example of Indus Action’s work in this space in India.

* (20m12s) - AIs are now pretty good at making music. We share a clip from a song generated by AI.

* (22m07s) - Sid anticipates how AI will usher in a new era of qualitative science.

* (25m00s) - “Every AI Application in the Social Sector Should Have Guardrails". See below for links to specific guardrail tools recommended by Sid.

* (27m40s) - Sid unpacks the role of regulation to manage the risks of AI. He discusses the balance between regulation and acceptable risk.

* (32m18s) - Sid shares a set of technical tools and resources for getting started with AI. Also linked below.

* (32m58s) - A few shoutouts to other organizations doing interesting work in this space.

* (33m49s) - The next 10 years according to Sid and Debbie.

Tools and References

* NeMo Guardrails and Guardrails: Sid recommends that every AI application in the social sector should be using guardrails. Here are two open-source toolkits that programmers can add to their applications to implement such guardrails.

* To get started quickly with AI applications, Sid recommends a suite of tools:

* LangChain is a programming framework to make it easy to build LLM tools.

* Llama Hub is a centralized repository and platform for integrating various tools and plugins specifically designed to enhance the functionality and performance of the LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI) series of models.

* LammaIndex is a toolset designed for indexing, querying, and managing data to improve the efficiency and accuracy of search and retrieval operations in large-scale language models.

* Suno AI is the tool Sid used to generate his song on AI for good. It’s pretty good.

* Reach Digital Health is a South African nonprofit that scales digital health programmes to improve delivery of healthcare services.

* IDInsight helps leaders combat poverty worldwide by designing, deploying and promoting evidence-generating tools, including data science and artificial intelligence.

* Indus Action is an organization working with IDInsight to make government services more accessible and understandable to the average citizen with the use of AI.

* Sid’s first shoutout goes to Jugalbandi, an open platform that integrates Generative AI and Indian language translation models to create conversational AI solutions. It supports over 50 Indian languages and aims to democratize access to information in various sectors such as government services, law, and healthcare through chatbots on platforms like WhatsApp. Jugalbandi is a part of the Bashini mission of the government of India.

* Jacaranda Health: Sid gives a shoutout to Jacaranda Health for building a language model for Swahili in Kenya and releasing it open source. They also provide a maternal messaging service in Kenya called PROMPTS.

* Dimagi: Sid also gives a shoutout to Dimagi for developing an open-source platform called Open Chat Studio to rapidly deploy LLM-based solutions for global health.

Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so please share it with the world.

Today we sit down with the team running the largest study ever done on how LLMs will - and won't - work for healthcare in Africa. Tobi Olatunji, Founder and CEO of Intron Health, speaks with Bilal Mateen, Executive Director of Digital Square at PATH, to discuss the upcoming AfriMed-QA project which will evaluate 20 LLMs over 32 clinical specialties across 15 countries in Africa. 

This is Part 3 of 4 of our series on AI for Health. Shoutout to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.

Show Notes

* (4m02s) - Introducing Bilal Mateen and Tobi Olatunji

* (9m20s) - The 4 Ways Generative AI Will Change Healthcare in Africa

* (17m01s) - The AfriMed-QA Project will create a dataset of 20,000 medical questions and answers from 15 countries across Africa and 32 clinical specialties. In the second phase, the Project will benchmark 20 of the leading large language models (LLMs) in the world to evalutae their effectiveness in the context of Africa healthcare.

* (30m02s) - Takeaways from our guest speakers for anyone working in global health and looking to apply AI

* (32m46s) - A call to action for the community of global health donors

Note the content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, legal, business, tax, or medical advice. Nor should this information be used to evaluate any investment or security.

In Part 2 of our 3-part series on AI for Health, we dive deeper to see what’s going on inside the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to safeguard the future. 

Today’s lineup includes:

* Dr. Sam Oti of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Canada and Host of the MedxTek Africa Podcast

* Andy Pattison, Team Lead Digital Channels, World Health Organization

Stay tuned for the last episode in our mini-series about AI for Health, where we’ll take a peek under the hood of AI with makers and innovators at IDInsight, PATH, and Intron Health.

Shoutout to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.

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Show Notes

Some of the topics we cover in this panel discussion include:

* (3m24s) - What is the World Health Organization (WHO) doing to ensure the ethical application of AI to global health - and minimize the many risks it presents?

* (5m25s) - How the WHO is working with technology partners to tackle misinformation

* (12m02s) - How the WHO uses AI to understand how people are thinking about and responding to health information

* (24m16s) - How did IDRC become of one of the first major funders in the world of AI for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)

* (28m04s) - How does the AI for Global Health program work?

* (34m29s) - What is NOT fundable? What kind of proposals get rejected?

* (37m48s) - What African healthtech startups are leading the charge to disrupt healthcare with AI?

Learn More

* You can learn more about Andy Pattison’s work with the Digital Channels group at the WHO here.

* The WHO publication, Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health, highlights the ethical challenges and risks with the use of artificial intelligence of health and proposes six consensus principles to ensure AI works to the public benefit of all countries.

* Artificial Intelligence for Global Health is a five-year, CAD15.5 million investment from IDRC to fund AI efforts in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen health systems. Through this funding, research and innovation hubs have been established across Africa to support the development of responsible and inclusive AI.

* Based out of Makerere University in Uganda is the Africa Hub for Artificial Intelligence in Maternal, Sexual and Reproductive Health in Africa (HASH).

* In Kenya, Villgro Africa is the commercialization hub for Africa.

* MedxTek Africa is a podcast from Dr. Sam Oti that showcases digital health and healthtech innovations from across Africa.

* In his capacity as host of the MedxTek Podcast, Dr Sam Oti has interviewed dozens of promising healthtech startups across Africa. He highlights a few that are making strides in the application of ethical AI to global health challenges. These include:

* MinoHealth AI Labs in Ghana develops AI-driven diagnostic and treatment recommendations to improve patient outcomes in Africa.

* Intixel from Egypt creates AI-powered software for medical imaging, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of radiological diagnoses through automated analysis and interpretation.

* Hurone AI founded by Dr. Kingsley Ndoh from Nigeria focuses on developing AI-based oncology solutions that offer personalized cancer treatment plans and improve access to quality care for cancer patients in Africa.

* Jacaranda Health in Kenya provides an AI-powered health navigator that engages new and expecting moms through a chatbot on how to work with the public health system.

* Looking ahead at the innovations that might be a game-changer for personal health, Dr. Sam Oti highlights the possibility of wearable AI. As an example he mentions Humane AI, a discreet, ubiquitous sensor and AI-powered second brain that you can pin to your shirt. In his words, “unfortunately it doesn’t work.” Yet.

* Thank you to Alice Liu of Baraka Impact Finance for a tonne of help behind the scenes putting this episode together. Among her many achievements working in AI for global health, Alice was previously co-chair of the AI Working Group for Africa CDC's Digital Transformation Strategy.

Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so please share it with the world.

Today’s episode is a panel discussion first recorded live at the Marmalade Festival at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford on April 12, 2024. This is the first of a 3-part podcast series on AI for Health powered by Reach Digital Health.

Our lineup includes:

* Andy Pattison, Team Lead Digital Channels, World Health Organization

* Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Digital Health

* Sid Ravinutala, Director of Data Science, IDInsight

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).

Stay tuned for future episodes on our mini-series about AI for Health. In our next episode, we'll speak in greater depth with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Canadian funding agency IDRC, and the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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Show Notes

Some of the topics we cover in this panel discussion include:

The Promise

(5m09s) - Our speakers discuss the breakthroughs now possible with AI for health, including the ability to diagnose diseases years earlier than ever before; to instantaneously disseminate essential health information across languages and countries; and the ability to provide hyper-personalized care to an individual based on their needs, body, and preferences.

The Perils

(14m11s) - While it’s tempting to deploy AI systems for health as soon as possible, these also pose very real risks in the high-stakes work of medical care. AI is known to hallucinate: to make up information that has no grounding in reality; AI is deeply biased towards rich people living in the connected world; and AI has the potential to be the most persuasive - and by extension the most manipulative - technology we have ever seen.

So… What Now?

(27m02s) - What do non-profits and social enterprises need to know today to seize the opportunity? Among the many tips and suggestions shared by our speakers, Debbie’s call to action is: get stared now. If you wait two years, you’ll be another two years behind.

Q&A

(35m37s) Towards the end of this episode, our guests field real-world questions posed by the live audience in Oxford, such as how to source diverse data, how to mitigate bias, and the real risk of magnifying the digital divide.

Learn More

* Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health highlights the ethical challenges and risks with the use of artificial intelligence of health and proposes six consensus principles to ensure AI works to the public benefit of all countries.

* Ada, Reach Digital Health, and the National Department of Health in South Africa launched a collaboration to provide AI-powered medical advice to mothers across the country.

* MomConnect is the South African platform to share essential health information with pregnant women across the country. It is provided by the National Department of Health in South Africa in partnership with Reach Digital Health.

* This episode is a panel discussion first recorded live at the Marmalade Festival at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford on April 12, 2024. You can watch a brief highlights video of the event here.

* Elicit is the AI assistant that can comb through the body of scientific papers to provide precise answers to research questions. Sid mentions Elicit as a counterexample to the significant risk of AI misinformation i.e. the ways in which AI can help societies in their search for truth.

* Karya provides high-quality datasets to power AI tools which include a more balanced perspective of remote, low-network areas.

Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so please share it with the world.

Our lineup includes:

* Mila Nepomnyashchiy, Lead Advisor, Center for Innovation and Impact, USAID

* Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain, The Global Fund

* Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck

* Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), Managing Partner at Celsian Consulting

* Dr. Prashant Yadav, one of the world’s leading scholars on healthcare supply chains. Dr Yadav is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, Affiliate Professor at INSEAD and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).

In case you missed it, don't forget to check out Part 1 of this episode, where we trace the movement of a pack of medicines from a factory in India to the shelves of a mom-and-pop pharmacy in Zambia. 

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Show Notes

Part 2 of The Medicine Supply Chain in Africa covers 3 segments:

1. The Outsized Role of Global Donors

(3m22s) - There’s a world of difference between the private sector medicine markets and the ones supported by billions of dollars of international donor funding. We hear from Mila Nepomnyashchiy of USAID about two different worlds: one for the medicines endorsed by global funding… and one for everything else.

2. Four Trends That Will Dramatically Change The Medicine Supply Chain in the Next 10 Years

(5m45s) - Trend 1: Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), on regulatory changes from the African Union that will massively expand the size of the market.

(9m44s) - Trend 2: Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck, on vertically integrated supply chains that will reduce costs and increase access to consumers.

(13m28s) - Trend 3: Dr. Prashant Yadav of the Center for Global Development on omnichannel distribution that will meet patients where they live and work.

(16m46s) - Trend 4: Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain at The Global Fund, on the golden age of biomedical innovation that will challenge our existing ideas of both ‘medicines’ and ‘supply chain’.

3. Social Entrepreneurs Leading the Charge

(20m31s) - Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights a handful of social enterprises that are leading the charge for change.

Learn More

* USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain Program is a US$9.5 billion program with support from PEPFAR. The follow-in contract may be as much as US$17 billion.

* The Global Fund provides extensive support to countries in procuring low-cost, priority medicines. Every year it spends about US$2 billion to procure medicines for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.

* The Africa Medical Supplies Platform is a pooled procurement mechanism spearheaded by the African Union

* The African Medicines Agency seeks to create a common regulatory environment for medicines across Africa

* The African Continental Free Trade Agreement could create the largest free trade area in the world

* mPharma provides medicines to pharmacies, but does not require payment until those medicines are sold. This helps pharmacies to stock more medicines by de-risking the need for upfront cash.

* Maisha Meds is providing forecasting, sourcing, and other technology support to small retail pharmacies in rural areas.

* Kasha is bringing health products to women and girls at home, giving them the privacy they need while increasing their agency and choice.

* Xetova supports the government in Kenya to use its health supply chain data to create insights on consumption, distribution, procurement spending, supplier and payment performance.

* Pendulum Systems (formerly Macro-Eyes) is providing AI and machine learning tools to African governments to help them optimize their medicine supply chain.

* How Local Innovation Can Drive the Global Development Agenda - This 2023 piece from Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the importance of new social entrepreneurs in addressing gaps in the private and public medicine supply chain.

* Innovations in Digitizing Health Supply Chains in Africa - This 2023 market intelligence report from Salient Advisory highlights some of the key areas of the medicine supply chain where startups in Africa are most active.

Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so feel free to share it.

Our lineup includes:

* Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck

* Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), Managing Partner at Celsian Consulting

* Michael Moreland, CEO and Founder, Field Intelligence

* Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain, The Global Fund

* Mila Nepomnyashchiy, Lead Advisor, Center for Innovation and Impact, USAID

* Dr. Prashant Yadav, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, Affiliate Professor at INSEAD and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).

Stay tuned for Part 2, when we look at the future trends which are going to dramatically change this supply chain and highlight a few of the new ventures which are leading the way.

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In this episode, we cover

* (2m54) - Setting the stage: we introduce several of the key actors in the medicine supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the key role of Ministries of Health as well as the disruptive influence of social entrepreneurs.

* (8m27s) - Yusuf Rasool of MSD/Merck describes the role of large pharmaceutical companies and why it is difficult for a large multinational to operate directly in 54 different African countries.

* (10m57s) - Clinton De Souza digs into two of the structural problems in the medicines market which makes it difficult for distributors to deliver low-cost essential medicines.

* (19m07s) - From the perspective of Five Star Pharmacy in Zambia, we look at the working capital gap which prevents small pharmacies from making the full range of medicines available to people.

* (21m49s) - Michael Moreland of Field Intelligence describes the role of social entrepreneurs and embedded financing in allowing small pharmacies to increase product availability.

* (29m17s) - Recap of the episode so far and teaser for Part 2

Learn More

* Health Product Supply Chains in Developing Countries - This 2015 paper from Dr. Prashant Yadav summarizes the key actors and common challenges of medicine supply chains in Sub-Saharan Africa.

* How Local Innovation Can Drive the Global Development Agenda - This 2023 piece from Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the importance of new social entrepreneurs in addressing gaps in the private and public medicine supply chain.

* Innovations in Digitizing Health Supply Chains in Africa - This 2023 market intelligence report from Salient Advisory highlights some of the key areas of the medicine supply chain where startups in Africa are most active.

* How MSD/Merck is improving access to healthcare - This page highlights a few of the affordability solutions that MSD/Merck’s Access to Medicines team is working on around the world.

* Imperial Logistics is one of the largest medicine distributors on the African continent.

* Five Star Pharmcies is a chain of retail pharmacies in Zambia founded by Lloyd Matowe with the support of Clinton De Souza.

* Field Intelligence is a social enterprise providing planning, fulfilment, and financing of pharmaceuticals to over 35,000 points of care in Nigeria and Kenya, including government clinics, retail pharmacies and drug shops, hospitals and telehealth providers.

* Was the $9.5B health supply chain 'a waste of USAID's money'? - Earlier this month, Devex published a(nother) searing indictment of USAID’s global health supply chain program. The controversy surrounding this highly centralized, donor-funded program is one of the reasons why now is a good time to take a look at what’s working (and what’s not) in private sector medicine supply chains. In Part 2 of this episode, we’ll touch on a few of the differences and linkages between what we describe in Part 1 and certain donor-driven supply chains.

Thank you for tuning in to Africa Health Ventures. This podcast is public so feel free to share it.

Subscribe to our newsletter at AfricaHealthVentures.com/Subscribe

Chuck serves on the boards of Yale’s School of Management, Tidepool, Reach Health, and the Horace W Goldsmith Foundation. He received a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellowship, and is a World Economic Forum Social Entrepreneur of the Year. 

• (6m27s) - How Chuck and Living Goods became digital first


• (13m45s) - The DESC metaphor of Living Goods: Digital, Equipped, Supervised and Compensated


• (22m01s) - Working with new technologies: the 'build or buy' debate


• (28m24s) - Why nonprofits struggle to build great tech


• (32m09s) - The digital transformation of aid: grantmaking through the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation


• (37m08s) - Financing scale: how governments and the private sector need to work together


• (40m19s) - Rapid fire questions, shoutouts, and recommendations

You can learn more about Living Goods on their website at livinggoods.org. 

Let us know what you thought of this episode on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved). You can also access show notes at AidEvolved.com.

She joins us today to talk about the role of technology in the remarkable transformation of Rwanda’s health system post-genocide. 

What are the failed promises of health technology? How has data been a North Star to her work? And what does it take to show the world that Rwanda today stands for truth?

Highlights

• (02m59s) - When health data is held hostage 


• (04m21s) - HIV is a curse that ushered in the era of electronic medical records


• (10m06s) - How epidemiological data supports effective health systems governance


• (16m10s) - Using Twitter to take a stand


• (20m54s) - Whose data do you trust?

Submit a question or comment to our mailbag, and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to podcast@aidevolved.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com

Dr. Biju Mohandas is a Partner at LeapFrog and the firm’s Global Co-Leader for Health Investments. Prior to LeapFrog, Dr Mohandas led the IFC’s Healthcare and Education investment team in Sub-Saharan Africa and was the Global Sector Lead for Medical Devices after also serving as head of Acumen in East Africa and as part of their founding team in India.

We’ll cover:

• (2m35s) – The coming global healthcare crisis


• (8m45s) – How Africa and India are poised to leapfrog ahead


• (12m11s) – Investing in asset-light healthcare 


• (15m09s) – Goodlife Pharmacy’s re-emergence after the Westgate Attack in Nairobi


• (18m08s) – How Redcliffe Diagnostics is bringing the lab closer to people in India


• (21m38s) – Pervasive technology, IoT, and wellness


• (23m04s) – HealthifyMe, the largest digital wellness app in India


• (26m13s) – How investors exit from ventures in emerging markets


• (30m10s) – Rapid fire questions

Submit a question to our mailbag and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to podcast@aidevolved.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access Biju’s latest synthesis on the state of healthcare in Africa at https://AidEvolved.com.

In its 20 years of existence, the Global Fund has channeled $55 billion to support the fight against HIV, TB, and malaria.

Prior to joining the Global Fund John was an Executive Director at UBS Optimus Foundation and COO at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). He helped establish the portfolio of one of the largest private foundations in international development, the Children's Investment Fund (CIFF). He oversaw development and humanitarian programs for Oxfam in various geographies including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and Afghanistan.

A few highlights:

• (2m13s) - Introducing John Fairhurst


• (6m06s) - How the Global Fund works with Big Tech


• (16m19s) - How the Global Fund works with emerging technologies and startups


• (21m38s) - The partnerships that don't work out


• (26m56s) - Guidance for other donors in "the valley of death"


• (31m41s) - Rapid fire questions

Submit a question or comment to our mailbag, and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to podcast@aidevolved.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com

Conversation highlights: 

• (2m19s) - Introducing PharmAccess Foundation


• (3m01s) - How PharmAccess is innovating in healthcare financing


• (6m43s) - What makes M-TIBA different from other health insurance programs?


• (9m55s) - The digital leapfrog opportunity in health insurance in Africa


• (12m20s) - How public funds catalyze private investment


• (14m45s) - Harnessing the value of data for the people who own it

Submit a question or comment to our mailbag, and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to podcast@aidevolved.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com

In this episode, we'll touch on:

• The kinds of global health innovations Curt financed through GHIF


• Curt's guidance for innovators seeking growth capital


• Lessons learned for emerging fund managers


• Curt's call to action for the global health community to ensure life-saving products are effectively delivered to communities as far as the last mile

This conversation was recorded live at the IFC Global Private Health Conference 2023 in Cape Town, February 2023. IFC is a development finance institution and the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.

Access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com and connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved).

Submit your questions or comments for a future episode to podcast@aidevolved.com.

Note: this interview is about the personal experiences and perspectives of Margot Cooijmans. Nothing said in this interview should be construed as the position of Philips or any of its subsidiaries, affiliates, or partners.

• (4m32s) – Margot establishes Good Company and dives into the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR)


• (11m28s) - Margot joins forces with the global technology company, Philips, to define the strategy during the startup years of Philips Foundation


• (21m38s) - Margot spearheads the creation of Philips Foundation Impact Investments Ltd, drawing expertise from Philips Ventures, the corporate investment arm, but with the goal of improving access to healthcare beyond where Philip can typically reach


• (30m30s) - Rapid fire questions with Margot Cooijmans 

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Subscribe for updates or let us know what you think of this episode on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved).

The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a non-profit, impact-first investment fund which has invested over 100M USD in innovations with the potential to improve the lives of those living on less than 5 dollars a day. It is backed by grant capital from UK, Canadian, Swedish, US and Australian governments as well as corporate and philanthropic donors. This interview reflects the personal experiences and views of Joseph Ssentongo and does not represent the position of GIF or any of its partners.

Conversation Highlights

• (4m35s) - Joseph recalls his work with the Investment Climate Facility for Africa working with government to improve private sector investment across 14 countries


• (13m08s) - What is the Global Innovation Fund (GIF)?


• (18m19s) - How does GIF remain accountable not just to its major donors but also to the people and communities it claims to serve?


• (20m33s) - Joseph unpacks the tricky balance between delivering world-class evidence and also investing in novel innovations which may not yet have a strong track record of evidence


• (23m04s) - Joseph shares his personal experience and the unique contribution of GIF to the waste pickers of Mr. Green Africa, a new kind of recycling company in Kenya


• (26m49s) - How GIF strives to be a catalyst that can lead the way for other donors to invest in risky innovations


• (30m20s) - What's next for GIF? Joseph describes the launch of GIF's Innovating for Climate Resilience Fund as well as the Innovating for Gender Equality sub-fund


• (31m22s) - Joseph tackles our Rapid Fire questions, from people who inspired him to his favourite podcasts

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on LinkedIn or on Twitter (@AidEvolved)

A note from our sponsor: this episode is brought to you by idealist.org. Are you looking to hire dedicated and talented professionals? Idealist is the #1 job board for the social impact sector. Sign up to start posting jobs today! Go to idealist.org/aid to get a credit for one free 30-day job listing.

A note from our sponsor: this episode is brought to you by idealist.org. Are you looking to hire dedicated and talented professionals? Idealist is the #1 job board for the social impact sector. Sign up to start posting jobs today! Go to idealist.org/aid to get a credit for one free 30-day job listing.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Conversation Highlights

• 13m56s Hiring and talent


• 15m06s Finding great opportunities


• 19m30s Monitoring and evaluation


• 22m35s Getting and acting on feedback


• 27m29s Unrestricted funding


• 31m07s Challenges


• 45m22s Rapid fire questions

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

A note from our sponsor: this episode is brought to you by idealist.org. Are you looking to hire dedicated and talented professionals? Idealist is the #1 job board for the social impact sector. Sign up to start posting jobs today! Go to idealist.org/aid to get a credit for one free 30-day job listing.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Hannah Subayi Kamuanga is Country Director for the Democratic Republic of the Congo of PROPARCO, France's development finance institution. She is a member of the investment committee for Launch Africa Ventures, the most active seed investor in tech in Africa today. On top of all of that, she's an active angel investor and co-founder of Dazzle Angels, the first Angel club to invest exclusively in women-led tech startups in South Africa.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Rebecca's prior work includes advising on digital ID for COVID-19 vaccination and testing, leading a $3M+ portfolio of AI and digital ID for health projects, and supporting the launch of government partnerships to fund and advance early stage technology and R&D in global health. Rebecca holds a Masters in Health Policy and Global Health from the Yale School of Public Health and a BA in Political Science from Yale University. She is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and was selected as a Forbes Ignite Impact Fellow, AI XPRIZE Semi-Finalist, and Gavi INFUSE Pacesetter.

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation is a 21st century philanthropy committed to bridging the frontiers of artificial intelligence, data science, and social impact.

Note: This interview is about the personal experiences and perspectives of Rebecca Distler. Nothing said in this interview should be construed as the position of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, or any of their affiliates.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Is there a donor or investor you’d like to hear on this show? Let us know on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Today’s episode was brought to you by idealist.org. Sign up to start posting jobs today on the number one job board for the social impact sector. Go to idealist.org/aid to get a credit for one free 30-day job listing.

To find out more, visit our website at https://AidEvolved.com 

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Lukonga is a Mandela Washington Fellow and has 15 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and development partners. He began his career providing technical assistance in aid sector programmes with Education Development Center (EDC) and VVOB. In 2011, he founded BongoHive with three colleagues after noting a gap in the support young entrepreneurs needed to bring their innovative business ideas to life. Since then, Lukonga has steered BongoHive to nearly 1300 Startups and MSMEs harnessing over $2 million in resources to support their growth since 2016. BongoHive have been featured on global and regional media outlets such as CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, TechCrunch, and many others.

In today's conversation, Lukonga recalls the founding story of BongoHive. He looks back on the early approaches he took to generate revenue and pay the bills, as well as the different sectors and services BongoHive has offered over the years. 

The story of Lukonga and BongoHive is also the story of how the tech sector in Zambia has evolved over the past ten years. It is a case study that illustrates many of the challenges of building the tech sector in low-income countries in Africa: the essential pieces of missing infrastructure, the limited options for funding and talent, and above all the unfaltering grit of its founders.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Robert began his career with the dream of eradicating malaria. To this end, he completed a PhD in medical parasitology and spent almost a decade at Kenya's premier medical research institute, KEMRI. But over the years, he realized the problem with malaria wasn't scientific - it was financial. It was inextricably linked to the poverty and inequity of the communities most affected.

So Robert started to grapple with the question: "how do I use cutting-edge science not just to tackle biology, but also to create opportunity? How can we generate wealth and launch viable health ventures that will fix the gaps in coverage?" This question would lead him first to launch a bioentrepreneurship program at one of Kenya's leading universities, and then to join forces with Villgro, one of the world's first impact incubators. In 2015, Robert co-founded Villgro Africa, a franchise offshoot of the global Villgro model focused exclusively on health innovations in Africa. Robert shares how he launched Villgro Africa, and how he needed to adjust the traditional incubator approach to match the economics of Africa.

Towards the end of this conversation, Robert hints at the next great venture he is turning his attention towards. He sees a massive untapped opportunity for the pharmaceutical sector in the genomic wealth of Africa paired with modern mRNA technology. He argues that clinical trials and precision health studies could be delivered here in Africa. These would deliver pharmaceutical products competitively to the global market and also provide more appropriate health solutions locally. He points at the gap that exists in the global pharma industry, and how Africans will rise to fill this gap. Of course, Robert is paving the way, with the launch of an innovation hub that will bridge the gap between biotech researchers and a new kind of pharma company for Africa.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Andrew co-founded Everwell and has been CEO for most of its existence. He sits down with Aid, Evolved to share what the journey to scale has been like, from the hallowed halls of Microsoft Research to the messy realities of public clinics. At Microsoft Research, he was able to work with cutting-edge tech and world-class researchers. In this environment, Andrew experimented with solutions in computer vision, augmented packaging, and cellular technology.

Then, in 2014, one of his innovations started to stretch beyond the domain of a research lab. 99DOTS, a tool for medication adherence, was seeing significant interest and uptake both by donors and government. Andrew and his small team knew that a research lab would not be the place to scale this technology. So, they set off on their own. This was how Everwell was born.

Everwell's journey to scale arose from a unique confluence of factors: it was built on a foundation in research and evidence. Andrew's spin-off from Microsoft was catalyzed by early buy-in from the government. And, serendipitously, Everwell's birth coincided with a change in health policy around TB treatment which created new demand for Everwell's solutions. 

But the journey to scale is riddled with challenges. Compared to the research environment, Everwell needed to adapt to support populations at scale which revealed new and different obstacles than at a more limited scale. As one example, their initial approach using incoming calls was blocked by the telecom operators (telcos) because the system enabled patients to call for free, so they had to innovate further to accommodate millions of toll-free calls coming into their system. In today's conversation, Andrew shares the many ways in which Everwell has needed to adapt and change in order to support the holistic, end-to-end needs of TB caregivers in India and around the world. 

One key learning from his experiences: if you’re scaling innovation, you either need to find environments with the right infrastructure to accept that innovation OR you need to build an organization that is able to develop the infrastructure needed to support your innovation.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

This is how Samuel Okwuada pivoted his prior venture, a brick-and-mortar wholesale distributor, into a HealthTech startup that is setting new standards for delivery quality meds, reliably and efficiently, to pharmacists across Nigeria. Today's conversation is a case study on how small pharmacies in Nigeria have historically acquired their stock and how this approach is being disrupted with new technologies.

While improving health product distribution has a massive potential for impact, it is also a market rife with challenges, politics, and delays. Samuel recalls how, in order to receive regulatory approval for medicines distribution, he needed immense patience and resourcefulness. Patience, to wait the 2 years needed for government licensing, and resourcefulness, because in order to get licensed, he needed to finance an operational warehouse for 2 years with no revenue. Here we see the speed of technological innovation juxtaposed against the pace of brick-and-mortar operations. But Samuel knows there is a better future ahead and is paving the way for that future: one in which Nigerians can rely with confidence on their local pharmacies to provide high-quality meds when and where they are needed.

Remedial Health is connected to more than 100 pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers, including GSK, Pfizer and Astrazeneca, as well as Nigeria’s Orange Drugs, Emzor and Fidson Healthcare. Earlier this year, it was one of the African startups that took part in the prestigious Y Combinator programme, the most successful accelerator program in the world. It also banked US$1 million in pre-seed funding to power its growth.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In this conversation, we trace Mara’s journey from riding motorbikes to deliver vaccines in rural Morocco to the halls of Harvard and the boardrooms of the Gates Foundation. We hear what it’s like to sit in the donor’s seat: both the power and the limitations of that role. And through it all, as we weave through Mara’s professional and personal negotiations with the healthcare system, we learn about the transformative power of technology and the essential need for effective health supply chains.

Mara is the Founder and CEO of Salient Advisory. Launched in 2020, Salient's work on health tech in Africa has been featured on CNN, CNBC, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Quartz, Devex, Stanford Social Innovation Review, by the Center for Global Development, the Brookings Institution and many more. Previously, Mara co-founded Impact for Health, and worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where she led >$100M portfolio to improve coverage of primary health care through health financing and engagement of the private sector. Mara holds a MSc in Global Health & Population from Harvard, was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco and serves as a member of the advisory board for Nivi, Inc.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Alain's work has been lauded by Bill Gates and honoured by the Queen of England, the President of Rwanda and Rebecca Enonchung. Yet his approach to digital health has undergone dramatic changes over the past ten years.

He started off with GiftedMom, a service providing safe pregnancy messages to pregnant women. GiftedMom reached over half a million women in countries across Africa. But after the hype faded, Alain saw again and again heartbreaking instances of women who traveled long distances to health facilities for a safe delivery, only to receive substandard care when they arrived. 

So, Alain decided to expand the work of GiftedMom to ensure quality care of women in delivery. GiftedMom introduced 'fast-track lanes' within hospitals in order to provide appropriate urgency and quality of care to women in delivery. This was how Healthlane was born.

2020 was a fateful year. Alain was admitted to YCombinator, the most successful startup accelerator in the world. This was the final push Alain needed to tackle preventative health by the horns.

Healthlane today provides premium health quality assessments. It gives people access to a world-class set of comprehensive diagnostics that provide deep insights into the most important machines of our lives: our bodies. And it's available in major cities across Africa like Lagos, Abidjan, Douala, and Nairobi. 

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In the conversation today, Mike shares how this Canadian engineer first came to Africa as a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders. Through early connections and personal initiative, he then found himself leading a Zambian mobile money company. In just a few years, Mike grew Zoona to a company that served millions of unbanked consumers in Zambia and Malawi. But that all changed when their Series C round of financing fell through at the last minute.

This is a classic David vs. Goliath story. Mike and his co-founders were a group of young, ambitious techies who wanted to make life easier for millions of Zambians. To do this, this small company needed to go head-to-head with billion-dollar international phone companies.

The craziest part? They almost won.

All of this and more is covered in Mike's book, Failing to Win, available worldwide through Amazon.

You can also access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com or connect with us on Twitter @AidEvolved.

Despite this success, Femi is a humble down-to-earth man. He opened up with us on the podcast last month about growing up in Ondo City, Nigeria, the child of a physician and a teacher. Even though he trained as a physician and was working as an investment banker on Wall Street, he couldn't resist the allure of Lagos, the emerging Silicon Valley of Nigeria. So he set off on his own to start a digital health venture building telemedicine technology.

The remarkable moment in this story is a fateful conversation Femi had with a partner during his time at YCombinator, the most successful startup accelerator in the world. The partner asked Femi whether digital health alone could achieve the mission Femi had set out to achieve. If not, what would it take? The answer: a LOT. It would take an integrated healthcare system, an insurance program, financing, licensing, a fleet of modern clinics, and a host of third-party clinical partners. But if you never try, you'll never succeed. So Femi pivoted Reliance Health from a pure technology player to a complete HMO solution and integrated healthcare provider.

If you're a founder, idealist, dreamer, or changemaker, listen to this episode to remind yourself of the importance of fulfilling your own mission - and the power of big goals even when those goals feel impossibly hard.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

The idea was born when Yetunde was volunteering for her church to raise health awareness in the community. Trained as a doctor, she was able to counsel, diagnose, and treat people in public spaces outside of the traditional hospital setting. A born entrepreneur, she saw an opportunity in the markets where people are already congregating and looking for health advice - and where traditional medical institutions seemed too expensive, too distant, and too inaccessible. So, she pulled up a chair and got to work.

Yetunde is a doctor, an entrepreneur, a Nigerian, a woman, and a mother. When the international nonprofit community wasn't initially receptive to her idea, she went a different route. She turned to faith-based organizations and corporate partners for support. She forged partnerships with banks, pharmaceuticals, and other large corporations to leverage their funds to serve community needs. Today Market Doctors employs 50 people serving 9 states in Nigeria.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

This is the story of Eng. Onyancha Chrispinus the Founder and CEO of clinicPesa. It's the story of how he was able to rise, first to the top of his class and then to secure a prestigious MIT fellowship. Finally Chrispinus struck out on his own to create an internationally-funded digital health business, clinicPesa.

Today clinicPesa serves over 1,870 Hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies across Uganda. It provides a variety of products focused on health savings and loans. In less than 4 months, they were able to reach 250,000 Ugandans, and they are now looking to grow to 1.4 million customers by close of year. These products are built on mobile money and other cellular technology to make the act of savings and payments friction-less for people and providers alike - with or without an internet connection. Where gaps exist, clinicPesa also provides short-term medical loans. This year, they are expanding their offerings to include new product lines in the pharmacy supply chain.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Starting from his humble beginnings growing up in a farming community in Ghana, Alloysius met his co-founder Emmanuel Addai in a dorm room at university. Together they rode the early hype around SMS messaging to deliver market prices to farmers - and quickly realized that farmers in Ghana need much more than just text messages. For the decade to follow, Alloysius has tirelessly pursued the elusive mission of creating real value for smallholder farmers. In the first iteration, they brought information and insights directly to farmers through voice messages. In the second iteration, they empowered agricultural extension workers to streamline trainings; provide quality seed and fertilizer; and even offer financing.

Then, in 2020, Farmerline made a pivotal strategic shift. In a key moment of crisis created by the COVID-19 epidemic, 2020 was truly a "make it or break it" year. Through an extraordinary push from Alloysius and his team, Farmerline catapulted from its roots in Ghana towards the global stage. Today it provides the technology platform used by organizations in 26 countries to streamline the agricultural value chain, serving over a million farmers in Africa.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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Born and raised in Kenya, Nthenya recounts first-hand the many ways in which the healthcare system failed her family. Hoping to make a difference, she shares how she explored new healthcare offerings in microinsurance, development financing, and private equity. Yet through a chance turn of events she met her co-founder Kebba Jobarteh and decided to try something radically different. Starting from the seed of an idea, Nthenya shares the tactics she used to develop the first win-win partnerships necessary for Antara to scale.

With the growing demand for healthcare that can be delivered remotely, Antara provides the end-to-end platform needed to deliver a new kind of healthcare. This includes the technology to connect all the actors; a virtual care team; and a model that seamlessly connects with traditional health financing and care providers. 

This conversation is for anyone who sees how much healthcare demands have changed since 2020 and the opportunity this presents to better serve the bottom of the pyramid.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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Ben grapples with the hopes and failures of designing a better kind of aid, one that rewards outcomes rather than inefficiencies. He talks about the unique moment in history when broadband arrived at his home in Kenya and you could feel the energy and optimism that kickstarted the Silicon Savannah. Embracing this moment, Ben clicked with one of his two co-founders within an hour of their encounter at Java House in Nairobi. All of this brings him today to Nivi, a social enterprise providing a chatbot-based marketplace allowing over 2 million people to achieve their own health goals in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and India.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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WellaHealth is an early-stage tech startup that lowers the barriers to access affordable micro-insurance health products. In 2021, WellaHealth successfully raised a seed round of investment, supported 1,500 pharmacies, served over 40,000 people, and grew revenue by 10X compared to the previous year.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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Today, ODK is celebrating a huge milestone: in a single year, Yaw has transformed the organization, rebuilt their revenue model, and achieved financial sustainability. We catch up with Yaw to talk about the many different business models ODK tried which failed to take off...and the one that finally made it.

ODK helps social impact organizations build powerful offline forms to collect the data they need wherever it is. It    is used for everything from COVID-19 contact tracing in Somalia, to monitoring parliamentary elections in Albania, to managing school attendance across Honduras.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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Tigest gives us a window into the stakeholders, the tensions, and the worries that go on behind the scenes, when you're working on health policy at a global scale. In the second half of the episode, we learn how Tigest stumbled into her work with WHO. Lastly, she shares her hopes for Ethiopia, the country where she was born, and how social enterprises can help Ethiopians lift themselves up.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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I clicked ‘record’ on the first episode of Aid, Evolved just over a year ago. My goal was to tell the stories of people working at the intersection of technology, poverty, and health. I've poked and prodded 28 people from many different walks of the aid sector: funders, innovators, non-profit founders, health systems leaders, government administrators - you name it. We've grappled with the situation of healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries across Africa and Asia. Together we've shared our hopes and struggles in applying technology to make such systems work a bit better.

As we wrap up 2021, let me share with you some of the things I've learned about the aid industry. Who are the actors, and what are the strengths and limitations of each actor? One question in particular I grapple with: every aid organization and donor emphasizes the importance of working with and investing in the people in the communities we serve. But why is it so hard to get investment as a local organization in Africa or Asia - and why is it so hard to give it?

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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This is also the story of how to shape a business to match one person's philosophy of impact, particularly in the complex and often broken dynamics of the aid industry. How do you build an ecosystem for impact, one that can rise above the success or failure of any individual project or product? How do you build a company that can have a lot of failures, but ultimately when it succeeds, its success is inextricably linked to the success of those we serve?

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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In the conversation today, Mike shares how this Canadian engineer found himself leading a Zambian mobile money company. He opens the door to the power and pressures of international financing, and the toll it takes on African entrepreneurs. In just a few years, Mike grew Zoona to a company that served millions of unbanked consumers in Zambia and Malawi. But that all changed when their Series C round of financing fell through at the last minute.

This is a classic David vs. Goliath story. Mike and his co-founders were a group of young, ambitious techies who wanted to make life easier for millions of Zambians. To do this, this small company needed to go head-to-head with billion-dollar international phone companies.

The craziest part? They almost won.

All of this and more is covered in Mike's recently published tell-all book, Failing to Win, available around the world through Amazon (available in audio, paperback and kindle format) or in South Africa at Takealot and Exclusive Books.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Kevin Starr needed to answer these questions when, in 1993, he unexpectedly found himself at the head of a new foundation named Mulago. Instead of taking the path well traveled, Kevin decided to experiment with creating impact that lasts. And so, through the twists and turns of many years, he developed the Mulago Foundation fellows program and investment approach.

In today’s conversation, Kevin shares how he found his way in the early years of Mulago. He talks about the challenges of early investments and how those lessons are applied to his current approach. Over time, he shares how the Foundation really started to gel once he was able to build common ground with his investors and his awardees. Kevin dives into some of the fallacies and idiosyncrasies of the aid sector, and how he’s established a more efficient way of working. Mulago runs lean because it builds on talent and trust - and skips the bureaucracy. Finally, Kevin presents his “playbook for scale”, the six systemic accelerators he sees again and again in his most successful investments.

In addition to leading Mulago, Kevin is one of the primary instigators of Big Bang Philanthropy, a group of funders that work together to direct more money to those best at fighting poverty.

Mulago Foundation was an early funder of Digital Green, Nexleaf Analytics, Medic, One Acre Fund, Living Goods, Last Mile Health, VillageReach, and Mothers2Mothers.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In this conversation, we recall what inspired Marie to work in the aid sector; her surprise placement in Uzbekistan; and the hard financial realities that constraint who can work in aid. We also peek behind the scenes to understand what it's like being someone with the responsibility of directing US Foreign Assistance overseas. In her role, Marie is constantly balancing her accountability to the American taxpayer with the unique needs of different countries which have hosted her. She needs to act according to the deadlines and the policies of the American Congress, while deeply understanding the needs of vulnerable communities that she is trying to serve elsewhere. Marie provides an honest and human perspective on what it's like navigating the aid industry. She tackles head-on some of the common pet peeves people have with aid, opening our eyes to the realities and responsibilities that come with managing public funds.

This interview is an eye-opener to the financial and political mechanisms which anyone working in the modern aid industry needs to work with.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In our conversation today, we talk about Evelyn's fateful decision to drop out of college in California so she could pursue her dream in Nigeria. She shares the explosive growth that eHealth Africa experienced - growing by 10X in a single year! - and the kind of pressures that put on the organization to expand and to deliver. She shares how she built a chain of private sector clinics, driven by the need to provide quality care to her growing staff. And finally we hear Evelyn's vision for her new impact investing work, and how it will power the next generation of tech founders to do even better.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Dominic was a key actor in the decision by Ghana Health Services (GHS) to adopt DHIS2. In this walk through history, Dominic retells how he first learned about the system, how he launched it on a shoestring budget, and the reason why it continues to be used so widely in Ghana today. 

Dominic was a Health Information Systems Expert for over a decade within the Division of Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PPME), the Directorate of GHS charged with oversight on digital health deployments in Ghana. He recently joined the World Health Organization (WHO) to continue promoting effective health information systems use at all levels of the Ministry of Health.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

We discuss Rahul's ground-breaking work to tackle tuberculosis (TB) in India, the country with the highest TB burden in the world. This resulted in the development of the largest TB platform in India providing continuity of care to patients across public and private hospitals. Rahul also played a major role in the fight against malnutrition in India, which houses a third of the world's malnourished children. His investments supported hundreds of thousands of India's community-based nutrition workers with smartphones and an application to guide and improve service delivery. Rahul shares the pressure, challenges, and opportunity that come with scaling to one of the largest health worker programs in the world. Reflecting on what he's learned, he shares how his investment strategy has evolved over the years, from investing in specific technology products towards building a digital innovation ecosystem for India.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In this conversation, Marlene and I discuss what it was like joining the board of PSF, particularly as a young African woman. She reflects on the resources she had, and the ones she didn't, when she taught herself how to code. On many occasions, Marlene has needed to act against traditional views of what a Zimbabwean woman should do. In equal part, she's needed to resist misguided donors with antiquated ideas of how to teach technology. Today Marlene sits at a crossroads, with open source and non-profit work down one path and the private sector technology industry down another. Which path will she choose - or will she find a way to bring these two worlds together?

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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In this conversation, Sebastian reflects on the eventful six years that he spent at Simprints. It began as a bunch of scrappy young kids studying in Cambridge, with an idea. Over the years, this morphed into the organization it is today, which has reached well over a million people in 12 countries. We cover the ups and downs, the believers and naysayers, and the risks and successes along the way. In parallel with this story we also learn about the rise and popularization of digital identity in the aid sector.

In the second half of our conversation, Sebastian and I dive into the nuanced and tricky issues surrounding digital ID. How do we strike the balance between the work of institutions and the needs and rights of individuals? How have the currents of change shaped the way that this technology was introduced, and how it's being taken up? In closing, we point to some of the key challenges that remain as well as possible approaches to address those challenges.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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This is the story of the man behind the institution. We peel back the layers to uncover the tragedy which led this tech entrepreneur to dive into the aid sector. Intertwined through his story is the story of modern-day South Africa, from the HIV epidemic to Apartheid. But it's also a story of hope, of idealism, and of the endless work of making change that he continues to this day.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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Ismaila is a member of Dimagi's global executive management team. He leads our team in West Africa, runs a major global consulting practice, and is Dimagi's representative to government in multiple countries. At the same time, he also manages to bring technology leadership to our product roadmap, raises two children, and balances a host of side hustles outside of work.

Ismaila shares how growing up with four sisters has made him a 'feminist by default'. Following the influences that shaped many in his generation, he went abroad to study and work - before making the fateful decision to come back to Senegal. Outside of his work in aid and with Dimagi, Ismaila leads many local initiatives, including one to strengthen agricultural enterprise and another to provide health insurance. These efforts provide a fascinating case study on the kind of aid that can be driven for Senegal from within Senegal.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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In this intimate conversation with Joy, we explore Joy's personal journey from growing up in Nairobi to joining JSI in the USA. Joy has a deep respect for the power of education, which was put to the test when she enrolled - and dropped out - of a Computer Science PhD program. Uncertain about how she could use her skills in the aid sector, she eventually found her way to return to Africa, and to share the life lessons she picked up along the way.

To find out more, download the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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In this unscripted side chat, the hosts of these three podcasts gather together to figure out, "Are we all just doing the same thing?". Claudine Lim of the Pulse on the Principles, Sonja Ruetzel of the ICT4D Conference Podcast, and Rowena Luk of Aid, Evolved talk through what inspired each of us to start a podcast. We share how the design and planning works behind the scenes. And, with relief, we realise that even though we're all talking about digital development, the way in which we explore that topic is vastly different. If you're trying to find the right digital development podcast for you, you want to listen to this conversation.

For a complete transcript of this episode, visit: https://aidevolved.com/behind-the-scenes 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

My conversation with Nic traces his adventures moving from the start-up ecosystem in Seattle, Washington, to the burgeoning tech community in Kigali, Rwanda. Along the way, Nic takes us through the birth and re-birth of different software products, with a particular emphasis on the different financial models needed to maintain those software products. We talk about the ins and outs of running a software development consulting firm; pay-for-license proprietary software; recurring monthly payments for software-as-a-service (SaaS); how these revenue streams change when they collide with open source; the "robin hood" business model; and much more.

This episode is for anyone who is looking to start a sustainable software business - but it's also for any of you looking to build software that lasts.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Our conversation with Rosa is also a case study on the use of digital identities, cash programming, and the interplay of machine interoperability with human trust, in times of crisis. Rosa shares the story of how her family left the Middle East, and how she couldn't resist going back. We talk about setting up Wi-Fi hotspots in Haiti, digital identities in Iraq, and digital vouchers in the Central African Republic (CAR). We explore the design challenges of working with both low literacy and low numeracy populations. Through this journey, we hear some familiar themes re-emerge, such as the importance of watching, listening, and learning from the local context. And how crucial it is to respect local knowledge and institutions, in order to make change that lasts.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In this conversation with Nithya, we unpack the formative experiences which led Nithya to Nexleaf. She talks about the discrimination she faced in high school, and ignored. She shares the complex lessons she learned from building a "simple" well in Bangladesh. And she celebrates the strong individuals who have inspired and guided her along the way.

In the second half of our conversation, we dig into a few trickier topics. For example, what is the role, and the limits, of researchers in international development. We discuss how health data needs to be owned at the country level, even though and especially when aid workers are eager to present this data in the international spotlight. Nithya celebrates what she's learned through years navigating and supporting government decisions - even when those decisions acted against Nexleaf. And, of course, we talk about how low-cost sensor technology, often referred to as the "Internet of Things", is changing how healthcare works in the most remote parts of the world.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In our conversation, Stephen and I talk about what it means to be a podcaster and an entrepreneur in the aid industry. Stephen shares his secret to success over the years. We gripe about how this sector has plenty of policies and policy makers, and how it has platforms for diplomats and executives to speak - but it doesn't have enough space to share the stories and lessons learned of real people working in the trenches. And, of course, we talk about the craft of podcasting, how far we've come, and how much farther we have yet to go. 

This short episode is the second in our experimental 'side chat' format.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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In our conversation, Ken describes the unlikely beginnings of FrontlineSMS - including how little it was used in the first two years after it was built. He shares how he started out running a primate sanctuary in Nigeria, and his initial work in conservation before global health and development really entered his life. He shares the surprising chain of events that led him to specialise in mobile technology for positive social and environmental change. And he also opens up about the stress of running a global, mission-critical piece of software, as well as the challenges he's faced within the aid and development industry. Finally we talk about his move into the private sector in 2018, to work on digital identity with Yoti as its Head of Social Purpose.

To find out more, download the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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Prior to founding ONA, Matt led a social enterprise initiative at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, where he served as ICT Director for the Millennium Villages Project. He has previously been Technology Director for ChildCount+ and a member of Columbia University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering research group in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Matt was born in Cameroon, grew up in Senegal, and has worked in Africa for 15+ years. He is a PopTech! Social Innovation Fellow and was named to the 2010 Time 100 List of Most Influential People of the World. Matt has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and has taught ICT4D at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University where he was adjunct faculty.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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In our conversation, Rikin walks us through the ups and downs of his tumultuous journey in setting up a non-profit. He shares how they managed with zero cashflow in their first year, and what has and has not worked in collaborating with other development partners. He gives us a window into the culture of fearless experimentation which continues to infuse Digital Green today despite its scale and adoption.

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

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It started out as I (your host, Rowena) was writing a ‘thank you’ note to our guest from last week, Eric Brewer. Somehow that email ballooned into a 3-page story about how Eric’s work set off a chain reaction which changed my life forever. I go deep to share a pretty formative period of my early career, which I often describe as my years ‘wandering in the woods’ in Ghana. I learned a tonne from that time, lessons which still guide me to this day. I’m sharing this story now in case some of you might also get value from this experience.

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In this episode, Liz recounts how technology has helped and hurt her work, as a neonatal intensive care nurse, as a clinical transformation consultant, and as a responder to the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. In each chapter of her life, Liz shares key insights into the business of making change in healthcare.

Most recently, Liz was the Global Director for the Better Immunization Data (BID) Initiative, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project, to improve the collection and use of immunization data in sub-Saharan Africa. This included the development and implementation of electronic immunization registries in both Tanzania and Zambia. She has been a special advisor to the Ministry of Health in Rwanda overseeing the Rwanda Health Enterprise Architecture Project, which saw the successful implementation of a full Health Information Exchange. She worked as a senior manager in the National Health practice of a large consulting company, as well as for one of the largest EMR system vendors, before leaving to focus on Global Health exclusively.

In this episode, Nneile reveals the early support and mentorship which started her down her career as an impact entrepreneur. She speaks openly about the struggles to innovate in South Africa, the challenges of local manufacturing, and the market dynamics which continue to limit iMedTech’s growth. Her story provides a glimpse into the energy and potential of the next generation of South African innovators, juxtaposed against the realities which still constrain their growth.

Nneile was recognized in 2017 as the South African Youth of the Year by the Office of the Presidency. In 2018 Forbes Africa magazine named her as one of the Top 30 under 30. In the same year, the All Africa Business Leaders Awards awarded her Industrialist of the Year in Southern Africa. Today she is a Harambean Entrepreneurship fellow in the class of 2018. She is actively growing her latest venture, 3DIMO, which provides data analytics to strengthen the livestock sector.

In this episode, Karl shares his experiences working in the donor community, from his unexpected entry into the field, to strengthening pandemic response in the Mekong basin, and even building open source communities with OpenMRS. Along the way, we learn about the heavy responsibility that grant officers bear, how the Rockefeller Foundation thinks about catalytic funding, the value of honesty from grantees, and how donors can sometimes act like “herd animals”. If you’re interested in hearing a first-hand account of the work and decisions made by one grant officer in digital health, you’ll enjoy Karl’s reflections on his time at Rockefeller.

In this episode, we trace Dr. Ben-David’s life from his early years fighting in Lebanon with the Israeli army; how he unexpectedly fell in love with the Indian Himalayas and then worked to bring internet to the Tibetan government in exile; and his current efforts to bring low-cost broadband to rural California. Along the way we talk about the perils and pitfalls of technological imperialism (even for something as foundational as internet access), the fine line between academia and practice, and the stresses created by a windfall of grant funding.

Yahel holds a doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley, and continues his affiliation with Berkeley’s TIER (Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions) research group. As the executive director of De Novo Group, Dr. Ben-David manages multi-million dollar projects which bring together world-renowned ICTD (Information and Communication Technologies for Development) researchers, and practitioners dedicated to bridging the digital divide and harnessing technology to increase civil liberties.

In this episode of Aid, Evolved, we uncover the little-known story of Gerry’s career before he went to Malawi or started Baobab. We talk through the early years of Baobab and the many technical and financial risks involved. And we hear what inspired Gerry to do it all again with the recent creation of GHII. Along the way, we discuss hardware prototyping using parts from eBay, the next generation of social enterprises Gerry hopes to launch, and the one thing Gerry would do differently if he had it all to do over again. 

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

In this episode, we hear about the risks, perseverance and creativity with which Derek pursued and ultimately landed his dream job. We trace his journey from college graduate through the various twists and turns of life across four continents, in order to break into the challenging sector of digital health and development. Through it all, we also touch on the role of language in opening doors and fostering communication across countries, cultures, and partners.

To find out more, access the show notes or subscribe to our newsletter at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

To find out more, access the show notes at AidEvolved.com

Let us know what you think on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

To find out more, access the show notes at AidEvolved.com

Let us know what you think on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)