Ethiopia has some of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world: 676 deaths per 100,000 births, a heartbreaking statistic directly related to the country’s dramatic lack of pre-hospital care and ambulance service. While there are organizations trying help, they are often grossly underfunded, leaving many mothers on their own if complications arise during delivery.

Colm Fay’s work at Abt Associates helped turn those numbers around. From his first days on the job with the international development firm, he was tasked with launching the HANSHEP Health Enterprise Fund, created by the Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, and DFID to provide venture financing for early-stage enterprises aimed at addressing often fatal Base of the Pyramid health disparities.

Fay recognized that practical business assistance was as critical as funding to young enterprises, so he incorporated entrepreneurship and innovation support – much like the services offered by startup incubators – into the fund’s offerings, and created a competitive application process to draw attention to the good work of all applicants.

He also designed a health enterprise exposition in Kenya to provide widespread exposure for the 50 finalists. In a Shark Tank-style atmosphere, the groups presented compelling elevator pitches to investors, donors, and private-sector representatives. Fourteen were selected to receive grants from $100,000 and $200,000.

Among the winners was Tebita Ambulance, the first private ambulance service in Ethiopia. In addition to providing critical pre-hospital emergency care, the group also offers community first-aid training, which can significantly improve emergency services outcomes. “The challenge is no longer just about creating new drugs and technologies,” Fay says. “Now it is about creating business models, organizational structures and pathways to get these innovations to the people who need them.” F

ay has since moved on to a role as research manager with the William Davidson Institute, where he manages the development of the Base of the Pyramid Enterprise Sustainability and Growth Program.