Shows
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastHearX: How a South African Startup took the Global StageFrom a university in South Africa to the shelves of Walgreens in the United States, the South African tech company HearX has risen to be a global industry leader in hearing health and announced a $100M capital raise earlier this year. In this episode, Rowena Luk sits down with CEO Nic Klopper and CSO Seline van der Wat to unpack how HearX (now LXE Hearing) is shaking up a 100-year-old industry to lower costs and improve access to care around the world. Tune in for a story of grit, timing, and bold bets that paid off.In...
2025-06-0528 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthFrom crisis to revolution. Why Africa's moment is now, a healthtech VC's case.A healthtech investor's view on healthcare in Africa in the next 10 years. If you’re building or investing for impact with underserved communities in Africa, this episode is for you. Rowena Luk has walked the talk. She is the ‘OG’ of creating visibility on digital health in Africa, and has built and scaled for impact in over 40 countries on the continent, and has now scaled her own impact to support founders through her VC firm Africa Health Ventures. This episode covers so much, especially the challenges that Africa fa...
2025-05-071h 04
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastMyths and Realities of Investing in AfricaToday we tackle head-on the myths and misconceptions of investing in Africa. We invite two of the leading venture capitalists in Africa to field tough questions from a room full of experienced international investors. Our guests are Bongani Sithole, CEO of 54 Collective and the most active investor in Africa, and Lelemba Phiri, Founding Partner of ATG Samata, a leading African gender lens investor.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...
2025-03-1032 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastInstaDeep: The African ExitInstaDeep was the largest acquisition on the African continent last year, sold for half a billion euro to the pharmaceutical company BioNTech. We speak today with Karim Beguir, InstaDeep’s Founder and CEO.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 an...
2024-11-2620 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAI Tools, Tips, and Trends for Public HealthIn our fourth and final episode of the AI for Health Series, we take a peek under the hood of the maternal health chatbot supporting pregnant woman delivering in public health facilities across South Africa. To begin, Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Digital Health, shares her personal take on the origin story of MomConnect, South Africa’s maternal health chatbot. Sid Ravinutala of IDInsight then takes us on a tour of how AI will change chatbots, governments, science, music, and health. Along the way, Sid and Debbie share a number of specific tools, tips, and trends relevant for AI pra...
2024-07-0338 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastHow LLMs Will and Won't Work for Healthcare in AfricaThere's a lot of hype about what generative AI and LLMs like ChatGPT will do to improve healthcare in Africa and around the world - but is it going to work? 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 P...
2024-06-1336 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAI for Health, Part 2: A Step AheadHow do global actors stay one step ahead of the risks posed by AI for health?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 OrganizationStay tuned for the last episo...
2024-05-2142 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAI for Health, Part 1: Promise and PerilsWith the mind-bending pace at which artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we work and live, healthcare organizations are asking themselves: what do I need to know today to seize this opportunity? In this episode, experts from the World Health Organization, IDInsight, and Reach Digital Health unpack the promise and perils of AI for health. 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....
2024-05-021h 01
Doers Within Us Podcast-Celebrating Builders of Tomorrow!Rowena Luk| Founder of Africa Health VenturesRowena Luk is a Tech entrepreneur turned impact investor on a mission to direct capital to groundbreaking, scalable ventures that will dramatically improve access to healthcare in Africa.
She has personally deployed digital health systems in 12 countries across Africa and run teams deploying digital health in 40 countries on this continent.
She created the leading digital health podcast in Africa. She was also a first hire and C-Suite executive of a digital health company now active in 130 countries.
To get the latest news, insights, funding, and job opportunities from healthcare ventures in Africa...
2024-01-2534 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThe Medicine Supply Chain in Africa, Part 2: The Next 10 YearsIn 10 years, the medicine supply chain in Africa will look very different than it does today. In Part 2 of this podcast, we examine four key trends which are going to re-shape the medicine supply chain in Africa over the next decade - and shout out to a few of the entrepreneurs that are leading the charge. From regulatory changes spearheaded by the African Union to biomedical innovation requiring new pathways to patient, the medicine market is both growing and changing in Africa. Our lineup includes:* Mila Nepomnyashchiy, Lead Advisor, Center for Innovation and Impact, USAID
2023-11-3022 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThe Medicine Supply Chain in Africa: from Manufacturer to Pharmacy (Part 1)What does it take to move a pack of medicines from a factory in India to the shelves of a mom-and-pop pharmacy in Zambia? In this episode, we explore the world of the medicine supply chain in Africa, as told by the people who run it. Along the way, we unpack the market dynamics which limit access to low-cost, essential medicines.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
2023-11-2132 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastIntroducing the Africa Health Ventures PodcastUnlocking access to quality healthcare in Africa by 2030 will require radical innovations. Join veteran digital health / healthtech entrepreneur Rowena Luk in conversation with healthcare industry leaders and innovators every quarter to strategize on what the future of healthcare in Africa will look like. This podcast is for social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and global health professionals who need to stay ahead of the rapidly changing landscape of healthcare in Africa.Subscribe to our newsletter at AfricaHealthVentures.com/Subscribe Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe
2023-09-2802 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastChuck Slaughter of Living Goods: Digital First Healthcare Saving Lives at the Last MileChuck Slaughter is the founder of Living Goods, which supports over 10,000 digitally-empowered community health workers who are reducing child deaths by over 25% at an annual cost of under $4 per person. As a Senior Advisor to TPG Rise (a $10 billion impact investing platform), Director of the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and a successful entrepreneur, Chuck has a rich perspective on how digital is reshaping aid and development work. Tune in today to hear Chuck’s guidance on whether to ‘build or buy’ tech, why nonprofits struggle to deliver the best technology products, and how governments and the private sector need to wor...
2023-09-0545 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastDr. Agnes Binagwaho, Former Minister of Health of RwandaDr. Agnes Binagwaho is a pediatrician, former Minister of Health of Rwanda, Senior Lecturer at Harvard University, Advisor to the Director-General of the WHO, and co-founder of the University of Global Health Equity. 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? Highl...
2023-06-0126 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastInvesting in Healthcare with the World’s Largest Pure-Play Impact InvestorDr. Biju Mohandas has led investments at not just one but three different household names in impact investing: LeapFrog Investments, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Acumen. Tune in today to hear about his take on the upcoming global healthcare crisis, the competitive edge of entrepreneurs in Africa and India, and the catalytic role of impact investors. Hear the investment priorities of a man who's been leading impact investments in healthcare in Africa as long as the term "impact investing" has existed. Dr. Biju Mohandas is a Partner at LeapFrog and the firm’s G...
2023-05-2339 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastTechnology, Innovation, and the Global FundJohn Fairhurst is the head of Private Sector Engagement at the Global Fund. As such, he is the link between this global institution and innovators ranging from Microsoft to Zenysis. Tune in today to understand how the largest financier of HIV, TB, and malaria programs works with Big Tech, emerging startups, and other innovators to achieve its global goals. 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...
2023-05-0937 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastNicole Spieker of PharmAccess FoundationWhen you dig into the problem of providing quality healthcare in Africa, sooner or later you hit the foundational question, “who is going to pay for these services?” In tackling this challenge, PharmAccess Foundation has provided health financing to almost 5M people in Kenya alone. A key part of this success is developing a digitally-enabled, financially sustainable approach that generates revenue from middle-income clients to sustainably serve low-income communities. We chat today with Nicole Spieker, CEO of PharmAccess Foundation, about the public-private partnerships necessary to make healthcare affordable to everyone. Conversation highlights: (2m...
2023-04-2517 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastCurt LaBelle, M.D., Managing Partner of the Global Health Investment Fund and the AXA IM Global Health FundGHIF was a "first-of-its-kind investment product", the fund was created in 2012 through the surprising alliance of the Gates Foundation and JP Morgan Chase. Its supporters include a stellar cast of characters such as Grand Challenges Canada, AXA Investment Managers, the development finance institution of both Germany and the World Bank, GSK, Merck, and Pfizer. Its mission is two-fold: generating attractive financial returns to its investors, and improving lives for millions in low- and middle-income populations. This is accomplished by providing late-stage financing for innovative drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, and working with companies to introduce the products globally. The new...
2023-04-1119 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastMargot Cooijmans of Philips FoundationMargot Cooijmans is an impact investor, philanthropist, entrepreneur, corporate lawyer, and expert on essential Corporate Social Responsibility. For most of their existence, she has led Philips Foundation and Philips Foundation Impact Investments B.V. Tune in today to learn about Margot's career directing the contributions of global corporations to better serve the public good.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 an...
2023-03-2837 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastJoseph Ssentongo of the Global Innovation FundAs the Senior Vice President of Impact at the Global Innovation Fund, Joseph Ssentongo works at the challenging nexus of innovation, evidence and impact. He sits down with Aid, Evolved today to share his efforts to generate evidence even from early-stage innovations; how to measure impact even when that impact might not mature until 10 years in the future; and how Big Aid can evolve to be more innovative by adopting the right model of risk.The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a non-profit, impact-first investment fund which has invested over 100M USD in innovations with the...
2023-02-2841 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastPippa Yeats of Turn.io: Sending a Lifeline to the People of UkrainePippa Yeats first built Turn.io to send reminders to mothers in South Africa about how to stay healthy. She never dreamt that she would be one of the first responders creating a lifeline to information in a country at war - after government websites and other channels were taken down by cyberattacks. In today's interview we retrace the event surrounding February 24th 2022, when Russia first invaded Ukraine. This triggered a group of Turn.io software developers to band together with the State Emergency Services of Ukraine and Meta (formerly Facebook) to launch the Ukrainian crisis response hotline...
2023-02-0723 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAndy Bryant of Segal Family FoundationIn 2022, Segal Family Foundation was the second largest US grant-maker in Sub-Saharan Africa by number of grants given (below Gates and above Ford Foundation). We speak with long-time Executive Director, Andy Bryant, about the radical changes he introduced to address the challenges of traditional philanthropy, and how he made it work in practice. One common theme emerges across Andy's work: a deep commitment to localization and to empowering African visionaries to drive African solutions.Conversation Highlights13m56s Hiring and talent15m06s Finding great opportunities19m30s Monitoring and evaluation22...
2023-01-2450 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAndy Pattison of WHO: 12 Days to Launch the Largest WhatsApp Service in the WorldOn March 8, 2020, Dr. Tedros asked Andy Pattison to set up the World Health Organization (WHO)’s global COVID-19 hotline, a process that would normally take months if not years. 12 days later, Andy and his team launched the largest WhatsApp service in the world. Tune in today to hear from Andy himself how it all went down. To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.comLet us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com) Get...
2022-12-1538 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastHannah Subayi: From Billion Dollar Fund Manager to Pan-African Angel InvestorHannah's done it all, from managing a billion-dollar fund to sowing the seeds for new ventures in Africa. She has invested directly in the companies who built the cell phone towers that are expanding connectivity in Africa and she's bootstrapping the entrepreneurs that will change how healthcare is delivered in the years to come. This conversation will help you understand the role that private financing can play in Africa's future. It's also a snapshot of the Congo, as told by one of its stars, a complex country which is both one of the poorest and the richest in the...
2022-11-2953 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastCreating New Ways to Fund Innovations in Global Health with Rebecca Distler of the Patrick J. McGovern FoundationJoin us in conversation with Rebecca Distler, Strategist for AI, Data, and Digital Health at the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. She shares the trials and tribulations of a decade spent funding and fund-raising for innovations in global health - and how she's working to change the game, from supporting the Gates Grand Challenges initiatives through her work at the Foundation to advance digital health equity. In this far-ranging conversation, we touch on ethical AI, private venture capital vs. public funds, and even the New York City Ballet. Rebecca's prior work includes advising on d...
2022-11-1546 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastSeason 3 Teaser: Donors and Investors in Digital Health / HealthTechSeason 3 of Aid, Evolved digs into the intimidating world of donors and investors in global digital health / healthtech. What's it like to walk a mile in their shoes? How are their actions and decisions influenced, be it by Congress or a Board of Directors, by tax authorities, by personalities, or public relations? We’ll peer inside the day-to-day lives of public and private funders, including big aid, foundations, development finance institutions, and private investors. To find out more, visit our website at https://AidEvolved.com Want to hear from a specific donor or inve...
2022-11-1503 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastBongoHive: Building the Zambian Tech Sector from the Ground UpLukonga Lindunda is a startup ecosystem builder. He is Executive Director and co-founder of BongoHive, an award-winning innovation hub and tech incubator based in Lusaka, Zambia, that is changing the landscape of entrepreneurship in the region.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...
2022-10-0445 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastRobert Karanja, Villgro Africa, and the Next Frontier of Genomics Startups in AfricaDr. Robert Karanja recalls how he founded Villgro Africa, a tech incubator and impact investor focused exclusively on health innovations in Africa. Stick around for the end when Robert shares his predictions for the future of genomics on the continent and his hopes for a new kind of pharmaceutical company for Africa. 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 m...
2022-09-0644 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastDigitizing the Largest TB Program in the World with Andrew Cross of EverwellLike another airborne disease we are all familiar with, tuberculosis (TB) spreads invisibly through the air. If you catch it and you don't treat it, you're likely to die. India has the largest TB burden in the world, with millions of cases diagnosed and over 500,000 deaths every year. Consistent, continuous treatment and management of care is essential to a healthy recovery. This is why the work of Everwell Hub is so critical. Everwell Hub is a comprehensive digital solution for the management of tuberculosis. 1 in 5 newly diagnosed TB patients in the world are managed through the Everwell Hub...
2022-08-3146 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThe Future of Pharmacy with Samuel Okwuada of Remedial HealthIn the heart of Nigeria's COVID-19 surge in 2020, Samuel Okwuada started receiving a string of phone calls from local pharmacies who were struggling to get stock during lockdown. They needed Samuel to deliver more essential medicines, in smaller quantities, to more locations, at the same or lower costs. This is an impossible equation for any traditional drug distributor to balance - but when it became clear they had no other choice, Samuel knew it was time to create something new.This is how Samuel Okwuada pivoted his prior venture, a brick-and-mortar wholesale distributor, into a HealthTech...
2022-08-0932 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastLet’s Get African HealthTech Founders a Seat at the TableMara Hansen Staples is on a mission to tear down the glass ceiling that stands between African innovators and global funding. She spent years talking to funders behind closed doors in Geneva, D.C., New York, and London. Throughout these conversations, she was always struck by the question: if our goal is to serve African markets, why aren’t there any Africans in these discussions? Today she has spearheaded the launch of Investing in Innovation (i3), a game-changing program to revisit and rethink how the public and private sector come together to support locally led innovation in Africa.
2022-07-2644 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAlain Nteff of HealthLane: How to Close Investment, Precision Health, and Building World-Class Laboratories in AfricaAlain Nteff is the CEO and Founder of Healthlane. Healthlane delivers precision personal health plans through a network of world-class laboratories in Africa. 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 th...
2022-07-0542 min
High-Impact GrowthBuilding a Partner Ecosystem & Subverting the Hubris of Aid with Rowena Luk (Exponential Growth part 2)Central to Dimagi's strategy of sustaining exponential growth is building and scaling a thriving partner ecosystem, a community of local developers and implementers that can create content, build applications and drive innovations with CommCare to suit specific localized needs.
In today's episode we talk to Rowena Luk, Dimagi's Chief Connector, about the role of partnerships in creating high-impact growth. You'll learn about Rowena's journey to global digital health, including how a Canadian physician working in Ghana convinced her of the need for technology to improve healthcare in Africa. She discusses what it was like being one of t...
2022-06-2322 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThrowback: David vs. Goliath with Mike Quinn of ZoonaMike Quinn was co-founder and CEO of one Africa's earliest major financial technology (FinTech) companies, Zoona. He raised over 35 million dollars of international investment for this Zambian startup - before its heartbreaking crash and Mike's exit from the company. 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 i...
2022-06-1647 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastFemi Kuti of Reliance Health: Are You Fulfilling Your Mission?Femi Kuti is the CEO and co-Founder of Reliance Health - an HMO using tech to make quality healthcare delightful, affordable, and accessible in emerging markets. Earlier this year they raised $40M through their Series B financing. This makes it the largest raise of its kind in the history of African health tech. 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 p...
2022-06-0748 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastYetunde Ayo-Oyalowo of Market Doctors: Taking Healthcare out of the Ivory TowerYetunde Ayo-Oyalowo founded Market Doctors based on the idea of bringing healthcare to people where they live and work. Market Doctors is a social enterprise that deploys doctors and other health workers outside of health institutions and in the public markets of Nigeria. Here they provide healthcare without disrupting the economic activities of communities living on the margins. Market Doctors is challenging assumptions about what healthcare is and where it can be found. The idea was born when Yetunde was volunteering for her church to raise health awareness in the community. Trained as a...
2022-05-2439 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastChrispinus Onyancha of clinicPesa: How to Lift Yourself Up in BusinessChrispinus Onyancha is the Founder and CEO of clinicPesa. clinicPesa is a FinTech company that provides affordable healthcare financing to the uninsured in Africa through mobile money.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...
2022-05-1030 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAlloysius Attah of Farmerline: Go Big or Go HomeToday, April 26 2022, Farmerline announced that it has raise $6.4 million in Pre-Series A investment and an additional $6.5 million in debt. Farmerline is an AgriTech business known as "the Amazon for farmers in Africa." We recently sat down with Alloysius Attah, founder and CEO of Farmerline, to hear the remarkable story of Farmerline. 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 fa...
2022-04-2652 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastNthenya Mule of Antara Health: Making Healthcare Personal in KenyaNthenya Mule is one of the founders of Antara Health, a technology company reimagining primary care to serve Kenyans both at home and in the clinic. 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 s...
2022-04-1239 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastBen Bellows of Nivi: Getting the Market Incentives RightBen Bellows spent almost 20 years studying the economics of aid systems - but 2 years ago Ben quit his day job to go all-in on Nivi. Nivi is a chatbot marketplace Ben founded to empower, inform, and engage communities directly. Today we chat with Ben to understand what inspired someone with 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and a lifetime in the nonprofit sector to take a bet on a healthtech startup.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...
2022-03-2945 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastHealthcare Financing for the Next Billion with Ikpeme Neto of WellaHealth (Nigeria)Ikpeme Neto is the CEO and Founder of WellaHealth in Nigeria. He's carried this healthtech startup through a major pivot from pharmacy automation to low-cost, tech-enabled health financing. In today's conversation, Ikpeme shares the many entrepreneurial experiments he ran in his early career - before he decided to scrap his entire team and start afresh. He recalls the moment when he decided to risk it all by giving up a comfortable life in New Zealand to come home to Nigeria and make a bet on a new startup. Finally he shares what he learned, and how he learned it...
2022-03-0950 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAchieving Financial Sustainability in Open Source with Yaw Anokwa of ODKIn November of 2020, I sat down with Yaw Anokwa, founder and CEO of ODK, to talk about the unsustainability of open-source software in global development. Despite building a data collection platform that was used by countless organizations in every country in the world, Yaw's team struggled to find the financial resources necessary to keep ODK going.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...
2022-02-241h 11
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastSeeking Knowledge from Chaos with Tigest Tamrat of WHOWhen it comes to health, there are few people who are tasked with answering the Big Questions: what's actually working? Where is the evidence? And how do we get it to scale? Today we talk with Tigest Tamrat, a technical officer at the World Health Organization (WHO), whose job it is to find answers to incredibly hard, ambiguous questions. She's co-authored some of the most essential reading in digital health - including the WHO's Recommendations on Digital Interventions for Health Systems Strengthening, as well as the mHealth Assessment and Planning for Scale Toolkit (MAPS).
2022-02-0239 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastAid, Evolved: Looking Back on 2021Today I pull together some of the conversations in 2021 that really made my head spin. 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 share...
2021-12-0830 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastWalking Away from Half Your Revenue with Jon Jackson of DimagiJon Jackson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Dimagi, a social enterprise that delivers digital solutions to improve lives in over 130 countries. In today's conversation, we chat with Jon about the influences, the people, and the ideas that took him from being an MIT grad on Wall Street to the trenches building health systems in Zambia. As we reflect on Dimagi's founding story, we also hear Jon's conscious decision to be an idealist and an activist - in spite of the existential doubts that plague him to this day. We hear how the mismatch between frontline aid workers and...
2021-11-2444 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastDavid vs. Goliath with Mike Quinn of ZoonaMike Quinn was co-founder and CEO of one Africa's earliest major financial technology (FinTech) companies, Zoona. He raised over 35 million dollars of international investment for this Zambian startup - before its heartbreaking crash and Mike's exit from the company.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...
2021-11-1046 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastHow to Create a Shared Reality with Kevin Starr of Mulago FoundationWhat would you do if you had millions of dollars to invest in impact? Would you put it in an existing charity - or would you try to do something different, something better?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...
2021-10-2747 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastReinventing Yourself on the Journey to Scale with Sathy Rajasekharan of Jacaranda HealthSathy Rajasekharan is the co-Executive Director of Jacaranda Health. Frustrated with the speed of change within larger institutions, Sathy joined Jacaranda to be part of a small, agile, and experimental team. His mission was to lead the charge on local innovation. He joined at a pivotal time, when Jacaranda Health was transforming beyond its origins as a private healthcare provider to create a digital health non-profit. At the helm of Jacaranda's operations in Africa today, Sathy is committed to Jacaranda's work to generate rapid, grounded innovation. This means he needs to make tough choices on what experiments to keep...
2021-10-1334 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastIn Country and Behind the Scenes with Marie Ahmed of USAIDMarie Ahmed has worked within USAID to strengthen health systems in Nepal, Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire, and Thailand. She has a long career in the non-profit and public sector, including time with the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan and over a decade with USAID, the largest contributor of foreign aid in the world. 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 li...
2021-09-2945 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastGrowing 10X in a Year with Evelyn Castle of eHealth AfricaEvelyn Castle is a woman who just doesn't know when to stop. She has founded multiple social ventures in the technology and health space in Africa. She is best known for her work as Executive Director and Co-Founder of eHealth Africa, a leading digital health implementer for Nigeria that was founded and run from Kano, Nigeria - and now has a growing footprint elsewhere in Africa. She also founded EHA Clinics, a private set of clinics providing quality healthcare in Nigeria, and EHA Impact Ventures, an impact investing firm targeting female-owned startups in Africa.
2021-09-2139 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastCharting Your Own Course with Erica Layer of D-TreeErica Layer is the CEO of D-Tree International, a global digital health organization dedicated to ensuring everyone has access to quality primary healthcare through integration of digital tools into community health systems. In this conversation, Erica shares how she found her way into the field of digital health, for reasons that had nothing to do with technology. She recounts how she was scared, inspired, and guided by Dr. Marc Mitchell, the founder of D-Tree who passed away two years ago. Finally, we trace Erica's journey stepping into the role of CEO, and how she's had to carve out her...
2021-09-0749 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastWhat Stands the Test of Time with Dominic Atweam of Ghana Health ServicesAfter more than 15 years in Ghana Health Services, Dominic Atweam has seen all the major digital health systems in Ghana come and go. But one system withstands the test of time: DHIS2 (or "DHIMS2" as it is branded in Ghana). 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 wa...
2021-08-1042 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastInvest In Ecosystems, Not Apps, With Rahul Mullick And The Gates FoundationAfter rising to the top of the global consulting industry, Rahul Mullick joined the Gates Foundation to oversee some of their most ambitious work in digital and technology. Today we look back on what Rahul learned and how his investment strategy evolved in the 7 years he spent with the Gates Foundation. 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 a...
2021-07-2749 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastEmpower Women to Code with Marlene Mhangami of the Python Software FoundationMarlene Mhangami is a remarkable woman. She was the first African woman to join the board of the global Python Software Foundation (PSF). PSF develops and maintains the Python programming language, one of the most popular programming languages in the world. Marlene was also chair of the first ever pan-African PyCon (Python Conference). She co-founded ZimboPy, a non-profit that empowers young women in Zimbabwe to pursue careers in technology. In this conversation, Marlene and I discuss what it was like joining the board of PSF, particularly as a young African woman. She reflects o...
2021-07-2045 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThe Promise and Peril of Biometrics with Sebastian Manhart and SimprintsSebastian Manhart has recently concluded his role as COO of Simprints. Simprints is the world's only nonprofit biometrics company focused on the last mile. He now works as an Advisor on Digital Identity for the German Federal Chancellery, the World Bank, and ID2020.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...
2021-06-2945 min
Intelligence SquaredDebate: We Must Stop Big Data's Pandemic Power GrabIn this week's podcast Nani Jansen Reventlow goes up against Rowena Luk to debate whether bringing big tech closer into our lives during the pandemic has been a welcome innovation or a dangerous power grab. The debate was staged by Intelligence Squared Germany in partnership with the European Council on Foreign Relations. The host was Ulrike Franke. To find out more about the ECFR click here: https://ecfr.eu/events/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.
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2021-06-1751 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastFrom Serial Entrepreneur to Non-Profit Founder with Gustav Praekelt of Praekelt.orgGustav Praekelt is founder, chairman, and CEO of the African-based Praekelt Group. Praekelt has directly delivered essential health information to 100 million people around the world. Praekelt runs both the South African national COVID-19 hotline as well as the World Health Organization COVID-19 hotline, making it the most popular WhatsApp service in the globe. 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 A...
2021-06-1541 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastForeign Aid or Local Aid? The Side Hustles of Ismaila Diene of DimagiToday we dive into the life and side hustles of Ismaila Diene, a senior executive within Dimagi. Born, raised, and now returned back to Senegal, he shares his experience with the diaspora, homecoming, foreign aid, entrepeneurialism, and structural inequity. 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 o...
2021-06-0146 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastLearning How to Speak Up with Joy Kamunyori of JSIToday we speak with Joy Kamunyori. Joy has a long career in digital health, and most recently was the Program Director at the Center for Digital Health at John Snow Inc (JSI). JSI is one of the largest global health firms, with thousands of staff and dozens of offices around the world, and the Center for Digital Health played a key role in enabling and facilitating technology use across its programs.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...
2021-05-2530 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastSide Chat: Behind the Scenes with Three Digital Development PodcastsIn late 2020, a few months after much of the world entered pandemic lockdown, three different digital development podcasts were each independently launched: the ICT4D Conference Podcast, Pulse on the Principles, and Aid, Evolved. 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 ho...
2021-05-2021 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThe Seven Lives of Living Software with Nic Pottier of NyarukaNic Pottier is the CEO and co-founder of Nyaruka, a software startup founded in Rwanda. Nyaruka builds and maintains RapidPro and TextIt.com. RapidPro today runs in over a hundred countries worldwide, supporting national scale messaging programs and reaching tens of millions of people daily. 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 t...
2021-05-1851 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastDigital Identity, Cash, and Trust in Humanitarian Response with Rosa AkbariRosa Akbari is a humanitarian technologist. She deploys digital technologies for crisis response, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. Most recently she was a Senior Advisor in Technology for Development at Mercy Corps, and before that has worked with organizations such as the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Dimagi, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).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...
2021-04-2737 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastDefying Expectations with Nithya Ramanathan of Nexleaf AnalyticsNithya Ramanathan is CEO and co-founder of Nexleaf Analytics, a technology non-profit. Today, Nexleaf technology protects the vaccine supply for 1 in 10 children born on Earth. Nexleaf Analytics is known for its work in low-cost smart sensor design, data analytics, and data advocacy.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...
2021-04-1348 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastSide Chat: Podcasting in the Aid Industry with Stephen Ladek of the Terms of Reference PodcastIn 2019, when I started thinking about doing a podcast on innovation in aid, I looked around to see what else was out there. At the time, one podcast stood out to me for its ability to capture the spirit of innovation in aid. It was the Terms of Reference Podcast, which Stephen Ladek ran from 2014 to 2018. Stephen recorded almost two hundred episodes with aid workers, social entrepreneurs, and other change-makers. His guests included CEO of FHI360 Patrick Fine, USAID's Chief Innovation Officer Alexis Bonnell, the President of Chemonics Bernhard Kowatsch, and the Head of the Innovation Accelerator at World...
2021-04-0627 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastIf What You Need Doesn't Exist, Go Build it - Ken Banks of FrontlineSMSKen Banks built the first version of FrontlineSMS over 5 weeks while unemployed at the home of his in-laws. Just a few years later, it was in use by development and conservation organizations in more than half of the countries in the world. He's described himself as a "scrappy" man who enjoys building his own websites and living out of a camper van for two years. And yet the world knows him as an authority on mobile technology for positive social and environmental change, as an adventurer and National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and as someone who's brushed shoulders with and...
2021-03-3043 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThe Tip of the Spear with Matt Berg of OnaToday's episode is a far-ranging conversation with Matt Berg, founder and CEO of Ona. We peel apart the many layers of Matt's life as an immigrant, a celebrity, a geek, a maker, and a founder. We marvel at all the crazy technologies we thought might work in the 90's. We hear the surprising role music had in bringing Matt back to this continent. We unpack how Matt drew from talent in Africa for Africa, when he founded Ona jointly in Kenya and the United States. In the second half, Matt highlights the untapped potential of new satellite imagery to...
2021-03-1640 min
The Africa Health Ventures Podcast6,000 Videos by Smallholder Farmers with Rikin Gandhi of Digital GreenRikin Gandhi reverse-emigrated to India to join a bio-diesel startup - which went under the week that he landed in the country. After that, he cold-emailed Microsoft Research to get a job. Three years later, he took the findings from his research to start a non-profit named Digital Green. Today, Digital Green is a leading organization which empowers smallholder farmers to lift themselves out of poverty by harnessing the collective power of technology and grassroots-level partnerships. To date, it has reached over 2.3 million farmers in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa. It is known for popularizing an innovative, bottom-up...
2021-03-0238 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastSide Chat: Wandering in the Woods in West AfricaThis short episode is the first in our experimental ‘side chat’ format. 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 s...
2021-02-2312 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastFrom ICTD Research to Practice with Eric Brewer of UC BerkeleyDr. Eric Brewer is a remarkable man. He founded a company that made it to the NASDAQ-100 within 4 years. He shaped the backbone of the modern day web. He's gained, and lost, a billion dollars. He is professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, Google Fellow, and VP of Infrastructure.Today we speak with Eric about his efforts to harness technology research to serve the world's poorest. Eric created and ran the Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions (TIER) research group at UC Berkeley co-hosted with Intel Research from 2003 to 2008. In doing so, he lay the foundation for a new kind...
2021-02-1638 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastThe Many Sides of Digital Health with Liz PelosoLiz Peloso has experienced digital health from many sides. With roughly a decade's experience as a practicing nurse, a decade in private sector health consulting, and a decade in global health, she can speak for multiple actors in this field. 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.
2021-02-0243 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastStarting Up in South Africa with Nneile Nkohlise of 3DIMONneile Nkohlise is well known in South Africa for her work as an innovator, founder, technologist, and risk-taker. She was recognized by the World Economic Forum in Rwanda in 2016 as one of Africa’s Top 5 Female Innovators for her efforts to found iMedTech, a biotech startup with a focus on prosthetics. 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 l...
2021-01-2636 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastPunching Above Your Weight with Karl Brown and the Rockefeller FoundationKarl Brown spent 8 years at the Rockefeller Foundation, investing across multiple domains, including pandemic response, digital health, health systems, and youth unemployment, before he joined ThoughtWorks as the Director of Technology for the Office of Social Change Initiatives. 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 o...
2021-01-1938 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastConnecting the Roof of the World with Yahel Ben-David of AirJaldiDr. Yahel Ben-David has spent most of his career bringing low-cost internet to resource-constrained communities from the Indian Himalayas to California’s Central Valley. He is CEO of Further Reach, Executive Director of De Novo Group, Founder of AirJaldi, Founder of the Tibetan Technology Center, and Founder of Xpert group (acquired by Zootec). 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 exi...
2021-01-1246 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastFostering a Culture of Innovation in Malawi with Gerry DouglasGerry Douglas is known for many things: for founding Baobab Health Trust in Malawi, for his work as the Director of the Center for Health Informatics for the Underserved at the University of Pittsburgh, and most recently as the founder of the Global Health Informatics Institute (GHII) in Lilongwe, Malawi. Anyone working in digital health in Malawi has likely worked with Gerry, or with an organization he founded, or with a student he helped to train. In this episode of Aid, Evolved, we uncover the little-known story of Gerry’s career before he went to Malawi or...
2020-12-1553 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastStarting by Luck and Succeeding by Grit with Yaw Anokwa of ODKYaw Anokwa is founder and CEO of ODK. ODK's mission is to design, build, deploy and support offline data collection software for low-resource settings. ODK is one of the most popular data collection tools used in the aid sector, and forms the foundation for a rich global community of users active in every country on the planet. In this episode, Yaw shares the story of ODK's humble beginnings as a sabbatical project. He recounts the serendipitous start of the effort, how to build the community needed to support open-source software, and the persistence required to create a career building...
2020-12-0847 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastFinding Your Way into Digital Health with Derek Treatman of Vital WaveDerek Treatman is a Senior Director of Technology Solutions at Vital Wave, where he supports governments and nonprofits in low-resource countries to use readily-available technologies to improve health services. 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 op...
2020-12-0146 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastDigital Health Systems Strengthening with Sean Blaschke of UNICEFSean Blaschke from UNICEF’s Technology for Development (T4D) team has spent the past 15 years working on technology for global development in Africa, first as part of UNICEF’s headquarters in New York and then later as part of its first ever Country Office T4D program in Uganda. In this episode of Aid, Evolved, we hear from Sean the story of how he and a small team relocated from UNICEF’s headquarters in New York to launch the first T4D program of its kind in Kampala, Uganda. Sean shares some of the initial struggles and early failur...
2020-11-2448 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastA Business Approach to Social Change with Soraiya Verjee of Every1MobileSoraiya Verjee has been a Director at Every1Mobile for the past 7 years, working to deliver digital solutions to drive social change in communities across sub-Saharan Africa. In this conversation, Soraiya shares her journey over 15 years of international business experience, ranging from technology to financial services to social impact. We talk about the major shifts in her life that brought her from a childhood in Kenya to the bank of Barclay’s in London, and finally how she ended up at Every1Mobile. This episode touches on her work building unusual partnerships between the public and private sector; how a...
2020-08-2050 min
The Africa Health Ventures PodcastComing Soon: Aid, Evolved will launch in November 2020We’ll be launching this podcast in November 2020. To get notified when we're live, sign up to our mailing list at AidEvolved.com. In this welcome message, I'll share a bit about who I am, why I'm starting this podcast, and what topics we'll cover. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe
2020-07-0703 min
CTRL+CLICK CASTThe Mobile Web for Global Change with Rowena LukMobile devices have the power to connect people from underserved communities to empowering resources and information. Which is why mobile tech is so critical for today’s NGOs and aid programs to positively impact the people they serve. Special guest Rowena Luk, VP of Strategy at Dimagi, joins the show to discuss the challenges, and rewards, of using mobile apps and tech to drive global change. She details how Dimagi develops apps with a focus on in-field testing, as well as the design constraints that guide their process. She shares examples of other programs that have found success through mo...
2017-08-0351 min