Announcing reach52’s new partnership with Futurize – a leading innovation studio that runs university-focused entrepreneurship and incubator programs!

“reach52 shares Futurize’s commitment to strengthen the healthcare innovation ecosystem. We hope that through this partnership, more cross-sector solutions will emerge surrounding frugal innovation targeted at digitally dark hard-to-reach communities”

— Edward Booty, CEO of reach52

We’re thrilled to announce this partnership with Futurize as we look to strengthening the innovation ecosystem across silos, and allow for knowledge exchange and support between academia, businesses and NGOs – an important step towards healthcare equity!

Look out for more details on the new entrepreneurship program across APAC launching in Nov 2022 – focused on innovative solutions to increase access to healthcare and using AI/Machine Learning to early detect NCDs.

Find out more about our partnership with Futurize here.

The Gen.T List is made up of trailblazing entrepreneurs, creatives and young leaders who are creating a positive impact in the region.

We’re so proud of our Founder and CEO Edward Booty for being selected as one of the 300 leaders of tomorrow who will shape Asia’s future in Tatler Asia Group’s annual Gen.T List.

He has been recognised for his contribution towards using technology to extend access to health services.

Check out Ed’s profile here.

We’re proud to share this new op-ed from Last Mile Health,  and reach52, on the potential and unrecognised value of community health workers.

Community health workers (CHWs), trained as Agents in reach52, play a key role in many under-resourced communities. They serve the daily health needs of their neighbours by delivering an integrated package of lifesaving care, including disease surveillance, and essential maternal and child health services.

Providing ongoing skills training for CHWs is essential and must be incorporated into national health budgets.

Find out how reach52 employs an innovation solution to magnify the impact of CHWs via our offline-first tech platform here.

 

Our CEO Edward Booty and our friends from Bayer recently made a trip to Kenya, where we are working together to close the nutrient gap for underserved communities.

Malnutrition poses a significant health challenge in Kenya, with more than a quarter of all Kenyan children under 5 who experience stunting due to chronic malnutrition, while almost 1 in 20 suffer from wasting due to acute malnutrition.

Through our campaign in Kenya, we aim to improve health indicators and outcomes for conditions associated with micronutrient deficiencies and increase health access through:

  1. A) Better trained health workers, trained as reach52 Agents
  2. B) Screening and awareness events
  3. C) Providing access to affordable nutrition products

 

 

 

 

 

Read the full article from Bayer here.

We’re thrilled to be announced as the winner in the category of Health Education and Health Promotion at the 5th Commonwealth Digital Health Awards. The awards were hosted by the Commonwealth Centre for Digital Health (www.cwcdh.org) which serves as the central hub of the Commonwealth Digital Health Network. The panel of judges included medical practitioners, regulators, and policymakers.

By Edwina Ong, Senior Partnerships Manager

In May, reach52’s partnerships team travelled across Europe to meet existing and potential partners after two years of COVID related travel restrictions. Across two weeks, we covered five cities and met 10 organisations. These ranged from business partners who fund reach52’s health campaigns to strategic partners who support reach52’s scale in new verticals or markets. We were spoiled by the hospitality of our partners (they made sure we always had food and coffee!) and appreciated the opportunity to build more touch points within each organisation, work through feedback on our partnership so far and exchange updates on upcoming initiatives.

In recent years, we have observed a shift in focus within large organisations, towards social impact and sustainability. Many new initiatives have sprung up since Novartis’ Arogya Parivar in 2007, Unilever’s Shakti network, or Gilead’s voluntary out-licensing, which many have seen as some of the pioneers in social business innovation. Since then, we have seen Novo Nordisk’s Changing Diabetes programme in 2009 to provide children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with medicine for Type 1 diabetes; GSK’s partnership with GAVI, to deliver more than 850 million vaccine doses at reduced prices to 300 million children in developing countries; Sanofi’s recent Global Health business unit, which aims to sell 30 essential medicines to 40 LMICs at affordable prices, and Pfizer’s ‘An Accord for a Healthier World’ to name just a few.

We expect this to only increase given the vast opportunities for the corporate world in the low-to-middle class population. By 2030, it is estimated that in Asia alone, 1.6 billion people will be middle-income – 70% of the global total. This is who we already reach, often known as “the missing middle” (those who aren’t poor enough to receive handouts from government but aren’t rich enough to afford full priced medicines and other healthcare commodities). There is a moral and commercial imperative to access high-growth emerging markets, and do good in the process.

 

 

One key thing we were able to achieve through this opportunity was to demonstrate our tech and receive feedback. Many were excited about our upcoming partner dashboard, which we intend for capturing data, insights and resident stories. Hearing the partners’ use cases for our data and platform definitely provided reassurance that we are on the right path.

We enjoyed hearing the plans to ramp up social business and healthcare access in emerging markets. As conversations went on, we realised there are multiple overlaps in priority markets between reach52 and partners, as well as synergies between what they want to achieve and what we can provide. It was heartening that organisations aligned with our mission and appreciated the work we put into building access to healthcare. In this increasingly competitive and cutthroat space, bringing healthcare to rural markets is by far not the sexiest startup to build, but we’re encouraged that many see the future in our efforts.

However, we can’t view this global problem with rose-tinted glasses. We know that realistically, the path to launch campaigns with new partners will be a long one. There will be multiple roadblocks such as receiving the right buy-ins, getting through procurement, and agreeing on the right price, getting innovative new market access models approved… but having alignment in the long term goal is a good first step in the right direction.

Following the trip, we engaged in deep discussions and reflected on how our partners’ feedback and roadmap could affect reach52’s plans. We have summed it up in five key points and how we view next steps to look like for the company:

  1. 1. Money always talks. reach52’s pricing has changed drastically in the last year and we have amended our fee structure to be output-based, per engagement completed, and therefore more cost effective for partners. However, organisations need further pricing innovation in order to build affordability in emerging markets. Most of our revenue is returned back to the community and our Agents. As a social enterprise working to create livelihoods for community members, we are unable to further reduce costs and can only think of new innovative approaches or additional services (as we don’t want to pay people below the poverty line to get our costs lower!)
  2. 2. Scale is key. Partners expect to see scale in a short timeframe but sometimes fail to understand that as a startup, we need funding and value-add services for our community to grow first. Beyond that, changing the health-seeking behaviour among residents is difficult and long, and organisations need to be realistic with their expectations. We hope to work with partners towards investing in multi-year campaigns, building the foundation to strengthen health systems and letting returns grow organically in new markets.
  3. 3. Disconnect between local and global teams. Often global corporate access goals do not trickle to country-level which causes delays in the deal process given multiple decision makers. As a result, it’s pertinent we continue driving more conversations, revamp proposals and stay agile to continuously grow and make value propositions align with goals from every stakeholder at local, regional and global level. This is hard, as there is often conflict between internal goals! Thus, on the flip side, the private sector needs to urgently line up key priorities to ensure progress towards Universal Health Coverage by 2030.
  4. 4. Healthcare data and insights are key. Every partner was excited by the idea of having live data fed from emerging markets, to monitor campaign progress, view resident stories and access a range of qualitative and contextual insights. Given reach52 already has Agents on-the-ground, we will train them to manage this well, organise interviews, gather stories and capture images from campaigns to assert this competitive advantage.
  5. 5. Our technology is one of a kind. One key thing that this trip really emphasised was that what we’re doing is truly unique. Many were interested in software licensing of our product to launch into new markets without reach52’s presence there. We are deeply considering this and want to make social business a reality for our partners, not just a pipe dream. But with innovation, there are often more hoops to jump through as we change the way health and engagement of communities is delivered!

We leave Europe with very positive spirits, knowing that the work we do is recognised and necessary. It is encouraging to see that partners want to move in the same direction that we do, that organisations are including access in their roadmaps and beginning to actionably put money where their mouth is. The road ahead is arduous but we’re not alone in recognising the need for change to make healthcare accessible for all.

“Digital maturity, in terms of reliable internet, inclusive access and digital payment systems, is the bedrock of any socially-minded innovation. At reach52, we sometimes work offline, with cash and with health centres who lack internet. This makes everything harder.”

The commitment to leave no one behind is enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development but over the past two years, COVID-19 has set back our mission of levelling up health outcomes in countries around the world. To get back on track, we need to harness the intensity of innovation displayed in our response to the pandemic. To find out more about innovative ways of delivering health care services in markets where others don’t reach, Gemma Kyle—Senior Associate Director at APCO Worldwide and member of APCO’s strategic partnerships and global engagement team—sat down with Edward Booty, founder and CEO at reach52.

Read the full article by APCO Worldwide here.

From providing access to essential health services in Kenya through tech innovation, to connecting smallholder farmers and public school meals in Brazil, we are proud to be amongst the featured organisations that strive to tackle existing gaps in vulnerable communities.

During the pandemic, many people in rural areas have been lacking medical care and assistance – including children and expectant mothers, who often require nutritional support such as Iron and folic acid supplementation. To help these women get appropriate access to healthcare products and services, reach52 establishes a local network of trained Agents in Kenya. The ambition of the tech social enterprise is to connect the 52% of the planet lacking access to healthcare to the affordable health products and services they need — enabled by reach52 access, their offline-first Android app. 235 Agents in Kenya will be trained to engage 4,700 residents in an awareness campaign.

Meet our founder, and learn more about how the organization is expanding access to healthcare.

Read the full article from Bayer here.

The number of people with diabetes worldwide is expected to reach 643 million by 2030, and 783 million by 2045 – rising most rapidly in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), where there is stark inequity in access to insulin. This report highlights the urgent actions that companies, governments and their partners can take to provide patients in resource-limited settings with the choice of treatment they deserve. 

These include 

Biocon aims for its biosimilar insulins to reach one in five insulin-dependent people with diabetes globally. To achieve this, they launched their ‘Mission 10 cents’ strategy, committing to offer its human insulins for less than USD 10 cents per day from vials directly sourced from Biocon Biologics by governments in LMICs. 

The programme has been launched in the Philippines, in partnership with reach52, covering programme implementation and logistics required to provide last-mile delivery of insulins at a price aligned to Biocon’s Mission 10 cents. 

Read it here and download the full report for more about the strategies to overcome barriers to access, areas where progress has been made, and opportunities for future action. 

Despite the pandemic, reach52 experienced our most impactful year to-date in 2021. We onboarded an additional 830,000 residents to our platform, upskilled over 4500 agents, engaged in 260,000 health engagements and expanded to 2 new markets, Indonesia and Kenya.

Read our annual report for more on our tech developments, growing global presence and campaign spotlights.

reach52_in_review_2021