BIRAC has signed a partnership agreement with United Nation’s Health Innovation Exchange (UNHIE) implement by Social Alpha.
Under this partnership, to unlock the potential of the Indian Medical Technologies (MedTech) and Digital Health innovations, a unique programme for health innovations was announced in November 2019.
It is conceived as an India Accelerator Platform which is focused to work through the successful adoption of 100 Indian innovations in the next five years. It is also estimated to result in the opening of market access and procurement of Medical Devices and Diagnostics and Digital Health solutions worth $500 million from Indian Start-Ups during the same period.
UNHIE is a platform to identify challenges faced by implementers and connect them with innovations that have high potential for impact. Additionally, this platform will create and curate investment opportunities for capital providers, prepare innovators for regulatory approvals, assist in market access, and leverage all partners and their network for global advocacy. The accelerator is estimated to result in the opening of market access and procurement of medical devices and diagnostics and digital health solutions from Indian startups during the period. It will also help Indian innovators to use multi-lateral and UN mechanisms to fund and scale their innovation globally.
It will be an open platform where key stakeholders from the public and private sector, multilateral agencies, and foundations will be invited to join the platform. The accelerator program will be managed by Social Alpha, a not-for-profit platform created by the Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (FISE).
Among the other partners, UNHIE provides a platform to identify challenges faced by implementers and connect them with innovations that have a high potential for impact. It links with investors to scale up the efforts and develop sustainable solutions to bridge the existing gap between innovators and implementers. This would further fast-track the progress to reach Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and other health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).