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Around the world, entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and spearheading solutions to health problems they see in their communities.

What remains clear is the tremendous need and potential for social impact led by Black and diverse leaders—especially in health.

HealthQuad and Cross-Border Impact Ventures, two healthcare impact venture funds recently selected by J&J Impact Ventures, share a common vision for supporting impact entrepreneurs in healthcare areas that have great potential but also great need.

Social innovation in healthcare is at a precipice. Can it rise to the challenge of meaningfully improving health systems and furthering health equity?

For J&J Impact Ventures, a social impact target can’t encompass all the dimensions of impact, but it does need to go beyond funds committed or disbursed and towards giving an indication of real-world change.

Takeaways from an online forum co-hosted by J&J Impact Ventures and Tech In Asia

Entrepreneurs and development professionals can be powerful champions of better healthcare. With the right resources, support and training, their efficacy as advocates could be exponential.

Investing in HealthQuad opens new doors for J&J Impact Ventures to play a larger role in supporting health innovation in India because of the vast need and great potential.

Of the $715 billion global impact investing market, corporate impact investors in innovation manage more than $7.2 billion in committed capital, an amount that has been increasing at a 54% compounded annual rate since 2016, according to this Stanford Social Innovation Review article. However, only 7% of the total impact investing assets under management focus on improving health, not nearly the capital needed to solve the many critical public health challenges facing our world today. Impact investors not engaged in global health have cited the unique and high risks in health innovation (that an investment may not provide returns quickly or at all) and the specific expertise required to help health start-ups scale and maximize impact.

As a standalone social venture, Jacaranda Maternity was able to break even and now has two busy hospitals and opening a third to help tens of thousands of women across Kenya through their pregnancies.