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Global Social Venture Biz Models for Health
Two Thursday’s ago I extended my commute down 101 to attend the 4th annual Global Social Business Incubator business plan presentations at the University of Santa Clara. I was interested to see what new ideas might be bubbling at the intersection of global health and social entrepreneurship that would be of interest for our Fall Health Horizons Conference, which is focusing on new business models. I wasn’t disappointed- there was a lot of innovative thinking on stage, the result of a lot of on-the-ground experience and hard work on the part of the 17 ventures presented.
The goal of the GSBI is to contribute to the sustainability and scale-up of technology based social benefit innovations that have been identified through existing recognition programs such as, the Tech Awards, the WHO’s Development Marketplace Awards, or the Global Junior Challenge or who have been recommended by peer-nominators from organizations such as the Skoll Foundation, International Finance Corporation or Ashoka. This year’s entrepreneurs went through an intensive two-week residency program in Santa Clara, working with a top-flight group of regional social venture mentors (such as Charly Kleissner and Carlos Baradello). 5 of the group were from the U.S., the rest spanning the globe from Canada to Cameroon, with India, Nepal, Bolivia, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Madagascar and the Philippines all representing.
Several health-related enterprises were in the mix. Claudia Shauer presented Sprinkles Global Healthcare Initiative from Canada, which manufactures sachets of micronutrients for home fortification of foods to improve the health of women and children. Claudia pointed out that micronutrient deficiency (MND) is a factor in over 2 million deaths per year- more than malaria- and affects over 750 million children. MDF is estimated to reduce GDP by at least 2% in developing countries, and is the #2 global health priority after HIV/AIDS according to the WHO.
Graham McMillan made a strong pitch for the Scojo Foundation, which provides reading glasses for the 1.6 billion people in need in the developing world through a B2B microfinance model developing local health entrepreneurs in India Guatemala and El Salvador.
Marc Krizack presented a scale-up plan for Whirlwind Wheelchair International, one of the original appropriate technology initiatives targeting health care needs in developing countries, started by SFSU design guru Ralf Hotchkiss. Whirlwind is implementing a franchise model of locally-owned workshops that produce robust high-performance wheelchairs that enable the disabled to participate in economic and social activities in developing countries. Take a look a the two videos on the website, you’ll be amazed at what Whirlwind’s wheelchairs can do.
Kenya’s Healthstore Foundation was represented by its Executive Director, Liza Kimbo. With a background in business as well as public health management, Liza presented a compelling microfranchise model to improve access to essential medicines, preventive care, and child and family wellness services through community owned and operated clinics. The business plan Liza presented anticipates a shift from the foundation’s current emphasis on donor funding to a more sustainable revenue model that more evenly balances donor funding with revenues from product sales and franchise fees.
The other ventures presented all provided valuable insights into potential models for health care delivery. Kiva and Thamel.com are both providing innovative solutions for global value exchange, Kiva through peer-to-peer micro-loans, and Thamel.com by facilitating in-kind remittances from the Nepalese diaspora to family members back home. Drishtee in India, and its subsidiary DrishteeHaat are developing rural entrepreneurial and information networks linking both national and international stakeholders.
A key point I took away from the workshop is one made by program director Jim Koch in his paper Technologies and Business Models that Work in Developing Countries, calls the Socio-Technical Principle, that criteria for technologies and business models must evolve in parallel in order to overcome barriers to diffusion and adoption. The same principle holds true for health delivery strategies in the U.S. as much as the developing world. The other strong theme was the viability of business strategies that engage the bottom of the pyramid and draw on user-defined innovations to deliver tangible value to consumers.