Poor access to low-cost capital constrains start-up companies and distributors in health product distribution. How can the global health community respond?
Retailers, start-ups and mid-sized distributors with high potential to drive changes in the availability, affordability, access and quality of critical health products lack affordable access to debt, equity or grant financing to support their growth. Though donors and impact investors are expressing increasing interest in engaging in this space, careful attention is required to successfully structure blended financing for health actors in Africa.
Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Salient is working with SouthBridge A&I to assess the high-potential uses of blended financing, assessing the areas of focus, deal flows, architecture (capitalization, structure, governance), impacts (social, financial), timeline, risk, sustainability and more.
During the fall of 2020 the team will:
1. Assess the feasibility of leveraging blended financing to support the growth of high-potential start-ups and distributors in health product distribution and provide recommendations on next steps.
2. Facilitate a collaborative process for consideration of the results among key potential investors, paving the way for rapid, collective action upon conclusion of the learning exercise.
A Learning Committee comprised of a mix of grant makers, impact investors and market experts has been convened to help shape the process, findings and recommendations. Members include:
- Ann Allen, BMGF
- Iain Barton, CHAI
- Leandro Cuccioli, CDC
- Colin Boyle, Independent (Chair)
- Julie Frye, BMGF
- Denise Harrison, USAID
- Justin Andrews, DFC
- Matt Rehrig, CIFF
- Biju Mohandas, IFC
- Prashant Yadav, INSEAD
- Maeve Magner, Independent
- Afsane Jetha, Alta Semper Capital
Findings will be available this winter – we look forward to sharing.
