Promoting collaborations for social impact

Collaborations closing healthcare disparities in underserved communities

Naom Monari is the Founder and CEO of Bena Care, a company that offers low-cost caregiving services for chronically ill patients in Kenyan communities. In a unique approach, Bena Care also trains women caregivers in rural Kenya further reducing the burden of cost on the family of patients, improving the healthcare of patients while creating a stream of income for the women! 

Collaborations fuel the mission for Bena Care as it allows them to provide a wide range of services without building new products or services from scratch. Naom explains “Partnerships and collaborations are one of the easiest ways we provide services and make them available to patients.” From training organizations to equipment providers and teleconsultation platforms, they have leveraged the strengths of various partners to deliver the best possible care to patients. 

One such successful collaboration for Bena Care is with the Jomo Kenyatta University in Kenya. This unlikely partnership between a startup and academia led to a study on chronic kidney disease in a local county. Findings from this research have also led to the launch of mobile dialysis facilities for patients in remote areas of Kenya. 

Changemakers making a difference through strategic collaboration

Another changemaker who understands the power of collaborations is Zubaida Bai, President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending poverty through their ‘Invest in HER Power’ strategy. This model aims to provide the framework needed to ensure women can leave poverty forever by first breaking down gender and power imbalances at home and in their communities. 

For Zubaida and the foundation, collaboration spans all levels, including the family unit. She states, “This involves engaging men as allies, training them to support the women in their lives, and advocating for financial institutions to treat women fairly.” It also means ensuring that women have the skills and support they need to succeed as entrepreneurs and leaders in their communities.

As a mechanical engineer turned social entrepreneur, she has spent her career developing products and systems that uplift women and address gender inequality with collaboration at the center. 
 

“By transforming systems for women together, we ultimately create better opportunities for everyone”, Zubaida concludes. 

Connecting to amplify social impact

It is evident that alliances can significantly improve outcomes in the realm of social impact as shared by these changemakers. Our lighthouse initiative, Making More Health (MMH, see info box) builds up on this approach.

“Collaboration is an indispensable tool for building sustainable social entrepreneurial ecosystems”, says Dr. Christopher Imbaya, Senior Manager, MMH. “Through collaboration, we created our social business incubator program supporting early-stage social start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa to increase our impact in underserved communities”. 

With their innovative solutions and passion for change, how then do we bring together these changemakers and others like them to amplify their impact? 

Enter Making More Health Together! The convention brings together diverse stakeholders invested in creating sustainable social impact. In doing so, it provides a platform for networking, knowledge exchange and creation of potential solutions, while opening opportunities for multi-sectoral collaboration. 

Zubaida affirms this. “I believe that places like this which are intentionally orchestrated to get the right audience in place are spaces to have healthy discussions that plant the seeds for systemic change”.

For Naom who has attended previous editions, Making More Health Together presents a great opportunity to collaborate and learn from other entrepreneurs. "The biggest selling point for MMH Together is the collaboration that they pioneer. Every time we go to the convention, there's such a big opportunity to connect with other social entrepreneurs and organizations around the space’’. 

She adds, “we learn a lot from the entrepreneurs we meet there. There is an opportunity to get a glimpse of how other companies within the space operate and you can adopt the best practices. We’ve also learnt how to effectively fundraise as women founders. It makes your road to success shorter.” 

Increasing social impact through collective action

The work of Naom and Zubaida through their respective organizations, serves as a powerful example of the impact of collaboration. It shows the power of collective action and calls each one of us to become changemakers in our own right.
Remember, when we collaborate, we’re not just solving problems, we’re also shaping a better world – one shared goal at a time. Are you ready to be part of creating sustainable solutions for pressing social challenges? Then make sure to register for Making More Health Together 2024. 

Info box: 

Making More Health Together is an annual global event that brings together like-minded people like Naom Monari and Zubaida Bai working together to achieve sustainable social impact.  

The convention is organized by Making More Health (MMH), one of our flagship initiatives aimed at creating healthy, inclusive, and sustainable communities around the world. MMH began in 2010 as a partnership with the social entrepreneur network Ashoka. Since then, it has evolved into a many-faceted program, which is continuously forging new partnerships and developing innovative models to amplify social impact and improve healthcare in underserved communities.

This year’s event is happening virtually and live in Ingelheim, Germany from October 9-10, 2024.