Healthcare - Summary and Presentation
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On the 21st of March, the NAB hosted its second Breakfast Inspiration Workshop of the year focusing on Health; providing a platform for meaningful dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders committed to addressing the complex challenges facing healthcare systems.
Michel Scholte from the Impact Institute set the context by providing insights into the current state of healthcare and outlined some of the opportunities that lay ahead for impact investments in the health sector. Next, Johanneke Maenhout from NLC shared the organization’s vision on impact investing in health care through the financing of (often tech-driven) innovative solutions, including their impact framework and theory of change. Sytske Groenewald from Cardano then followed by presenting an inspiring case study about prevention and how health can be drastically improved by investing in clean water and sanitation, generating both a positive impact and financial return, with a blended finance structure offering a risk-protection in emerging markets. Finally, Dieuwertje Roos and Ruben Koekoek from Social Finance NL shared their experience on the opportunities and challenges of health impact bond structures in the Netherlands.
There is a transformation push in the EU and investors are indeed showing interest in investing in healthcare. Facilitating cooperation at local and macro levels with a holistic approach can provide impetus for underserved areas and help them develop.
An immersive Q&A ensued, prompting an engaging discussion on the opportunities and challenges that are involved with impact investments in the healthcare sector.
Key takeaways include:
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Address the need to create stronger, but also practical, information and measurement systems. Beyond health, what other indicators to include? Should we integrate counterfactual analyses and secondary outcomes in our models?
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Knowledge sharing is crucial. Facilitate the collaboration between scientific community, public sector and financial sector.
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Transaction costs could be significantly lowered, and reliability increased by making accessible an open library of measurement models and benchmarks.
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The complexity and compartmentalization of the Dutch healthcare system and its regulatory environment might actually be the main obstacle for actors to be receptive towards impact investments.
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Importance of involving stakeholders in the investment process.
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Using proven models such as microfinance or blended finance structures, investors willing to make an impact can manage their risk.
Climate change is the biggest threat to human health, putting our healthcare systems under extreme pressure. Healthcare systems need to be resilient and sustainable. Investor intentionality and additionality can provide a good start for any mission. Ensuring the involvement of right stakeholders from early stages can take us a long way!
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Download the presentation HERE.
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