New Delhi, 21 February 2023: The SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Finance Facility, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by IPE Global, has committed INR 5.98 Crore to Skill Tree, a leading skill training organisation in India, to provide healthcare related skill development and livelihood support to 2,553 youth from remote locations across India, especially Maharashtra.
USAID is the U.S. Government’s premier international development agency which works to help lift lives, build communities, and advance democracy. In India, USAID is collaborating with the country’s growing human and financial resources through partnerships to promote innovation and entrepreneurship to solve critical local and global development challenges.
According to Skill Tree, the objective of the project is to motivate and train youth from marginalized sections of society, primarily women, to pursue employment and entrepreneurship in the healthcare sector as their primary career option.
Under the aegis of Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) and National Skill Development Cooperation (NSDC), the project will impart trainings to develop phlebotomy technicians, dietetic aides and tele-health service coordinators. The certified candidates will set up a total of 14 telehealth centers, take up door-to-door diagnostic tests and opt for wage-linked opportunities in the industry. For the candidates qualified to set up the telehealth centers, Skill Tree will facilitate subsidized loans through various government-led schemes and other financing sources.
Using SAMRIDH’s blended finance approach, Skill Tree, along with the funds secured by certified candidates for establishing telehealth centers, will be mobilising additional capital to the tune to INR 12.71 Crore for the project. On project completion, approximately 1 lakh people are expected to be served from all the telehealth centers while skilled phlebotomy technicians will cater to nearly 10 lakh people and dietetic aides will serve 1 lakh people.
Elaborating on the importance and potential of this partnership, Mr. Himanshu Sikka, Project Director, SAMRIDH and Chief Strategy and Diversification Officer, IPE Global, said, “At SAMRIDH, we strongly believe that innovation and entrepreneurship can be crucial drivers to address the challenge of insufficient healthcare infrastructure and skilled professionals especially in rural and remote areas of the country. We are encouraged to see our innovative financing solutions play an instrumental role in scaling-up Skill Tree’s initiative towards training youth, particularly women, and promoting an entrepreneurial culture in the healthcare space. This is an important collaboration to improve the overall accessibility and affordability of quality health services for the last mile.”
Ms. Nilofer Hasnain, Senior Manager - Operations and Service Delivery, Skill Tree, said, “With every step, Skill Tree Consulting aims to bring about a powerful on-ground change. We are delighted that through our partnership with the USAID-Supported SAMRIDH initiative, we are training and providing livelihood opportunities to youth from marginalised communities in Maharashtra, and hope to strengthen many more through this partnership.
The project will be implemented in five stages, namely, mobilization of interested and eligible youth, training and assessment, entrepreneurship and wage-linked opportunities, monitoring and evaluation of the project, and support and impact reporting. Marking its first milestone, the project has successfully trained and certified more than 1,300 candidates till date across Aurangabad, Nashik, Pune, Amravati, Akola and Nagpur in the specified roles.
SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Finance Facility is supported by the United States Agency for International Development in technical collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission & Women Entrepreneurship Platform, NITI Aayog, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, the National Health Authority, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Rockefeller Foundation, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Caspian Debt and NATHEALTH, and is managed by IPE Global. SAMRIDH combines commercial capital with public and philanthropic funds to drive greater resources towards market-based health solutions that can improve access to affordable and quality healthcare services for India’s most vulnerable. SAMRIDH was recognised among ‘India’s top 50 COVID-19 last mile responders’ by the World Economic Forum.
IPE Global is an international development consulting group - the largest in South Asia - providing technical assistance and solutions for equitable development and sustainable growth in developing countries. Headquartered in New Delhi, India with seven international offices in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Philippines and United Kingdom, the Group offers a range of integrated, innovative and high-quality consulting services across several sectors including Health, Nutrition & WASH, Social Economic Empowerment, Urban & Infrastructure Growth and, Education & Skills Development to name a few.
