Left to right: Natasha Sunderji (Accenture), Janet Dorling (Gilead Sciences), Nafisa Jiwani (U.S. DFC), Ed Booty (reach52), Sidd Goyal (Nivi)
Listen to the official panel at the JPM Healthcare Conference here. Watch the continuation of the discussion at the Alliance JPM side meeting here.
Growth in Asia and Africa is no longer about isolated products, it’s about systems. Asia and Africa are emerging as the next frontiers for healthcare growth, with fast-scaling markets offering unprecedented opportunities for private sector investment to drive both growth and patient reach.
“It’s about moving from products to patients, building the distribution networks, the patient engagement platforms, financial structures, and partnerships that really allow innovations to scale into real world health systems.” — Natasha Sunderji, Managing Director, Accenture
For the third consecutive year, the Alliance convened a panel at the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) in San Francisco, followed by an Alliance side meeting held at Accenture’s San Francisco Innovation Hub. This year’s panel brought together leaders from Gilead Sciences, U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Nivi, Inc., reach52, and Accenture to explore how pharmaceutical partnerships, development finance, and patient platforms are creating investable infrastructure in high-growth markets across Asia and Africa.
At JPM, the panel discussed women’s health in Asia as a particularly compelling opportunity for investment. Although there is a disproportionate burden of women’s health conditions, the market remains commercially underpenetrated even as Femtech and women-focused care scale across reproductive and maternal health, oncology, and chronic conditions.
Broadening this lens to think across healthcare systems in both Asia and Africa and beyond women’s health, the side meeting conversation at Accenture explored what it actually takes to translate growth potential into investable, scalable health outcomes across both regions and across all patient populations.
The panel underscored that the most promising long-term opportunities in emerging markets lie not just in individual products, but in the systems and partnerships that connect them to patients.
Key Takeaways & Practical Lessons for Scaling in Emerging Markets
- Build systems, not just products. Growth depends on distribution, patient engagement, financing, and trust— not standalone innovations. Supply chains, manufacturing, pooled procurement, and enabling platforms offer long-term investment opportunities.
- Test locally, scale strategically. End-to-end execution (regulatory compliance, demand generation, data systems, and delivery) typically benefits from being proven in at least one market. For asset-light platforms, certain digital or direct-to-consumer components may be scaled across multiple geographies more quickly, capturing efficiency while still adapting to local needs.
- Local context matters. Operating models rarely translate cleanly across regions; trust, regulation, and payment dynamics vary widely.
- Leverage asset-light, digital approaches. Direct-to-consumer and software-led platforms can bypass infrastructure constraints and scale faster.
- Treat women’s health as a core growth opportunity. Large unmet needs in reproductive, maternal, oncology, and chronic care align with durable, commercially viable demand when paired with effective delivery models.
- Invest in ecosystem infrastructure to drive returns. Diagnostics, health worker training, screening, and patient engagement are critical to converting innovations into scalable revenue.
- Align incentives early with partners and governments. Clear goals, realistic timelines, and patience are essential to managing risk and enabling scale.
Emerging Markets: Asia and Africa
Across Asia and Africa, rising demand, stronger patient engagement, and expanding digital infrastructure are creating increasingly investable markets with predictable utilization, durable revenue, and scalable returns, panelists shared.
In Africa, health systems are managing a dual disease burden as infectious diseases persist while non-communicable diseases are on track to become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality by 2030. This shift is driving sustained demand for diagnostics, medicines, chronic care, and supply chains. Africa is asking for an estimated $11 billion by 2030 to build local pharmaceutical production capacity alone [IFC], which is creating space for private capital, blended finance, and long-term partnerships.
In Asia, the epidemiological transition is already well underway, with markets projected to grow from $2.3 trillion in 2023 to more than four trillion dollars by 2030 [EQT Group], driven by demographics, insurance expansion, and the rapid adoption of digital and generative AI technologies. The region has also emerged as a global innovation engine, now accounting for more than 40% of the world’s innovative drug pipelines [McKinsey], with growing implications for where R&D, clinical trials, manufacturing, and commercialization are anchored.
“What we’re seeing that is quite interesting is the idea of the pharma supply chain, and where there are opportunities for pooled procurement.” — Nafisa Jiwani, Associate Vice President, Health Initiatives, U.S. DFC
Janet Dorling, senior vice president, U.S. Commercial and former Intercontinental Region and Gilead Patient Solutions at Gilead Sciences, shared how Gilead is focused on strengthening healthcare systems and building a sustainable future in Africa and Asia, emphasizing how healthcare investments can create lasting value.
“When you strengthen healthcare systems and bring better care to patients, that provides an opportunity for bringing more products there, having more support for innovation, and all the things that fuel Gilead’s business. It’s very possible to have meaningful impact and create value,” Dorling shared. She pointed to Gilead’s partnerships with academia and government in Vietnam as an example, describing efforts to move care beyond major cities and into communities to treat hepatitis C and B.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is the U.S. government’s development bank, providing debt financing, equity investments, and political risk insurance to support projects in emerging markets. With its recently expanded investment capacity, DFC enables private sector investment in opportunities — often in partnership with other development finance institutions — that might otherwise be too risky to pursue.
“The three health sector areas the DFC invests in are health services and infrastructure, manufacturing and supply chain, and the intersection of health and technology. What we’re seeing that is quite interesting is the idea of the pharma supply chain, and where there are opportunities for pooled procurement,” shared Nafisa Jiwani, associate vice president, Health Initiatives, U.S. DFC. She highlighted the pandemic, when pooled procurement was critically important in Sub-Saharan Africa to aggregate demand, improve purchasing power, and stabilize access to essential medicines and vaccines, and noted that similar opportunities are emerging in Asia as well.
Jiwani also described the intersection of health and technology as a significant opportunity — one the DFC has only scratched the surface of and is looking to increase investment in. She added that asset-light projects, where the DFC can leverage its equity tools and investment funds, are particularly attractive.
Comparing experiences across regions, panelists shared how operating assumptions and models in one region do not always translate cleanly to another region. Sidd Goyal, CEO and co-founder of Nivi, noted that trust barriers are significantly higher in Asian markets, while Ed Booty, CEO and founder of reach52, described Asia as more commercially mature, with Africa offering greater public health impact.
Women’s Health: An Underpenetrated Market
“Women’s health is one of the biggest unmet needs in healthcare.” — Janet Dorling, Senior Vice President, U.S. Commercial and former Intercontinental Region and Gilead Patient Solutions, Gilead Sciences
“Closing the women’s healthcare gap is not just a niche impact story. It represents material, economic, and commercial opportunity that aligns unmet needs with long-term growth,” said Sunderji [at JPM].
From Asia to Africa, women’s health — one of the largest unmet needs in healthcare — represents a high-impact, commercially viable opportunity for investment and innovation. Several organizations are leading the way in addressing this gap, including reach52 and Nivi, which are pioneering innovative healthcare solutions across both regions.
reach52 tackles the reality that over 52% of the world lacks access to essential healthcare, focusing on Asia and Africa. The company combines medicine distribution, regulatory support, diagnostics, and generics with innovative market-building approaches, including pooled procurement and health worker training.
Women’s health is a large focus of the organization, reflecting both unmet need and a commercially investable opportunity. reach52 recently licensed Pfizer’s self-injectable contraception, Syana Press, for distribution across African markets and plans to expand into India.
“There are big opportunities across everything from fertility and IVF to more innovative products. For example, one U.S. innovation — a VC-backed tampon that doubles as an HPV self-test kit — can replace a traditional smear. We’re starting to distribute U.S. innovations in Africa,” Booty shared. “It spans diagnostics, pharma, and all the usual commercial categories, which are incredibly exciting in emerging markets. The key is approaching it in an asset-light way to make it sustainable.”
Nivi is redefining how patients in emerging markets connect with healthcare, using an asset-light, direct-to-consumer approach that bypasses traditional infrastructure. In Asia and Africa, where most healthcare spending is out-of-pocket and referral pathways through insurers or primary care providers are limited, Nivi engages patients directly via popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp.
Goyal described how the platform can develop insights that pharma companies can use to tailor their access and affordability strategies, with the goal of creating a model that can scale.
“We worked with MSD’s market access team in Africa to design an insurance product covering HPV vaccination. One critical insight was that affordability and concerns about side effects are major barriers,” Goyal shared. “What we do is tailor conversations to each individual’s needs and then aggregate [and anonymize] those insights to help our pharma partners grow their market share.”
Gilead Sciences has also been doing innovative and revolutionary work in women’s health. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where women account for over 60% of new HIV infections, the company is introducing Lenacapavir — an innovative HIV intervention — through partnerships with the U.S. government and organizations like the Global Fund.
“Women’s health is one of the biggest unmet needs in healthcare. To bring this intervention to the communities that need it most in the same year it launched in a country like the U.S. sets a new standard for how we should operate. Our commitment to this work will continue and it’s a way to do the right thing while also creating value,” shared Dorling.
Developing Successful Partnerships
Expanding healthcare access in emerging markets requires more than products and programs — it demands strategic partnerships. In regions where infrastructure is still developing, where health systems vary widely and patient pathways are fragmented, collaboration between governments, private sector players, and local stakeholders is essential.
“What I’ve found working with governments is that there’s a strong desire to partner. We have to approach things differently, but it’s never just the two of us at the table — it usually involves other critical stakeholders. Through greater collaboration and shared goals, we can accomplish more,” emphasized Dorling.
While successful partnerships are critical to expanding healthcare access in emerging markets, they are not without challenges.
“It’s a desire to understand. Everyone wants to do the right thing. But understanding what that means to them and what that means to you — and truly understanding not just what you want to achieve, but how you want to achieve it — is critical.” — Janet Dorling, Senior Vice President, U.S. Commercial and former Intercontinental Region and Gilead Patient Solutions, Gilead Sciences
“The biggest barrier to successful partnerships is aligning incentives,” said Goyal. “Everyone’s north star is serving patients, but each partner has their own priorities. It just takes the right conversations at the right time.”
Agreeing with Goyal, Booty added that lack of patience is also often a barrier. “Health moves slowly even in the U.S. and U.K., and in emerging markets, it’s even more pronounced. Sometimes we’re asked to complete a six-month project, but it can take a year just to register a product, plus time to build demand. You need patience to make it happen because it’s harder in emerging markets a lot of the time.”
Jiwani noted that the barriers to partnership vary by investment type. For things like large infrastructure projects, barriers to partnerships can stem from government will. “No matter how much the project is, I can’t move if there isn’t government will,” she said. For private-sector partnerships, she added, success hinges on a deep understanding of the target market, including whether the regulatory environment is ready to support the intended investment.
Echoing her fellow panelists, Dorling emphasized that because there are often cultural differences, social differences, and economic impacts, having more nuanced conversations takes time to align on incentives and obtain government support.
“It’s a desire to understand,” Dorling expressed. “Everyone wants to do the right thing, but what that means to them and what that means to you, and truly understanding not just what you want to achieve, but how you want to achieve it is critical.”
Scaling Innovation in Emerging Markets
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to scaling healthcare solutions in emerging markets, the panelists expressed how successful expansion hinges on strong business plans, investor alignment, tailoring strategies to local contexts, leveraging technology effectively, and fostering strong partnerships.
In partnering with an institution like the DFC, Jiwani emphasized the importance of coming prepared with a business plan. “I do not finance ideas alone. You need to have a business plan. If you’re seeking debt financing with a clear plan for how funds will be used, that’s something we can consider,” she said.
Dorling added, “Be very clear what your ask is. A clear story about alignment to Gilead’s priorities and a very clear story about patient impact. If you can have that clarity of purpose, then it’s easy to have a conversation.” She emphasized that understanding where an initiative fits within a company’s goals is critical for investors and partners seeking to collaborate.
Booty cautioned against scaling too quickly, expressing the importance of getting the full model working in a single market before expanding. “You really need to get the end-to-end flow working properly in one big market first, including all tech, data, and dashboards. The system solution is what really unlocked things,” he said, reflecting on his experiences with reach52.
Offering a complementary perspective, Goyal described how Nivi took a slightly different tack, highlighting that having an asset-light, software-driven solution allowed them to have faster geographic expansion. “Establishing trust, allowing the consumer to guide the conversation, and then connecting to care is critical to really creating behavior change at scale,” he shared.
The Future of Healthcare Investment in High-Growth Markets
“There is an opportunity for the private sector to come in and create sustained ownership in countries where it hasn’t existed. The chance to work with public systems in a way that complements their efforts is enormous.” — Nafisa Jiwani, Associate Vice President, Health Initiatives, U.S. DFC
The panel closed with a clear message: the most promising long-term opportunities in emerging markets lie not just in individual products, but in the systems and partnerships that connect them to patients.
“There’s a huge opportunity, especially in global health, as we look at the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) being put together. This is the opportunity for the private sector to come in and create sustained ownership in countries where it hasn’t existed. The chance to work with public systems in a way that complements their efforts is enormous,” shared Jiwani.
Panelists identified manufacturing, supply chains, diagnostics, oncology and cardiac care as underdeveloped yet investable areas, as well as the potential of direct-to-consumer models in markets free from legacy system constraints. They also highlighted the value of strategic partnerships with governments and other stakeholders to build sustainable healthcare infrastructure and enable long-term impact.
“The distribution, the patient engagement, the financing, the trust. They’re no longer adjacent to growth. They are the growth strategy.” — Natasha Sunderji, Managing Director, Accenture
For pharmaceutical leaders, success will hinge on how effectively they partner to reach patients and expand access. Healthcare providers are urged to explore digital and community-based models that can scale responsibly. Investors, meanwhile, are encouraged not only to back promising companies, but to help build the underlying infrastructure that transforms demographic shifts into durable demand and long-term value.
Learn more about the Alliance’s financing and investing work, and find insights from our JPM 2024 and 2025 panels here.
PANELISTS
Edward Booty, CEO, reach52
Edward is the founder and CEO of reach52; a fast-growing healthcare startup on a mission to connect the 52% of the world that lack access to health services. reach52 focusses on emerging markets product registration with sales and distribution management (reach52 Access); coupled with building demand and brands through integrated market development (reach52 Impact: training health workers, collecting data to build localised strategy; with health education and screening campaigns). Ed has launched reach52 operations across 15 markets in Asia and more recently Africa, building an ecosystem of 30 partners and expanding access to their products and services, (with in-market operations and digital platforms to enable this). He has worked in health systems across three continents; and has extensive experience in digital health, access to medicine and essential health products, health equity/public health campaigns, supply chain, government relations and public affairs, strategy, business development and product licensing and startup operations. Prior to reach52, Ed worked in healthcare consulting, for the UK National Health Service (NHS) and for a multinational pharmaceutical company in India, looking at access to medicine in non-urban areas. He is a graduate from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Janet Dorling, Senior Vice President, U.S. Commercial, Gilead Sciences
Janet Dorling is a dynamic leader with more than 25 years of experience in science and business. She recently took over leadership of the U.S. Commercial Business, having led the Intercontinental Region and Gilead Patient Solutions, driving operational accountability across a large set of geographically and culturally diverse markets. Previously, she built and led the Global Commercial Strategy and Operations Team at Gilead. Prior to joining Gilead, Janet held successive C-suite positions at biotech start-ups, building commercial organizations from the ground up. From 2003 to 2017, she held Global and U.S. commercial roles at Roche and Genentech. Janet holds an MBA and a BS in MCB Genetics from U.C. Berkeley and an MS in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology from Duke University.
Siddhartha Goyal, CEO and Co-founder, Nivi, Inc.
Siddhartha is CEO and co-founder of Nivi, an AI powered conversational platform built for global health markets. He has raised over $6.4M for Nivi, has signed a global MSA with Merck to drive engagement on health journeys for its therapeutics, and expanded the business to 5 countries – India, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya, and Nigeria. Nivi’s platform has engaged over 2 million users in women’s health journeys across its operating geographies. Prior to Nivi, Siddhartha served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Invested Development, a fund focused on East Africa and India, where he worked with existing portfolio investments and sourced new investments. He also served as CTO of TinyURL, the world’s first link shortener serving over one billion redirects a month, and CTO of Assured Labor, a job marketplace acquired by OCCMundial in Mexico. Siddhartha holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his spare time he travels, is an avid outdoors enthusiast, and through various speaking engagements, provides insights into entrepreneurship for new and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Nafisa Jiwani, Associate Vice President, Health Initiatives, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
Nafisa Jiwani is a seasoned global health leader with deep experience in development finance, health systems, and strategy. She has extensive expertise in translating complex development policies and regulatory frameworks into actionable, high-impact financial transactions such as vaccine manufacturing projects, regional productions hubs, and critical supply chain infrastructure-aligned with global health security and pandemic preparedness strategies. She is skilled in working with governments, development finance institutions, multilaterals and private sector partners to design blended finance solutions and public-private partnerships that accelerate access to health technologies while fostering local production capacity and long-term sustainability. Currently, Nafisa is the Associate Vice President and Head of Global Health initiatives at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, where she leads innovative health transactions and capital mobilization initiatives in emerging markets. Previously, Nafisa held senior leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, advancing national priorities in value-based care, health innovation and public-private partnerships. Nafisa is passionate about creating scalable solutions that drive sustainability and resilience Worldwide. Ms. Jiwani’s career spans clinical and translational research, youth development, global health and development finance. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Public Health in Management and Policy from Emory University’s Rollins Schools of Public Health.
Natasha Sunderji, Managing Director, Accenture [MODERATOR]
Natasha Sunderji is the Global Health and Nutrition Lead for Accenture’s social impact practice – Accenture Development Partnerships. She also co-leads Accenture’s Health Equity Center of Excellence. By engaging Accenture’s global workforce of over 750,000 employees, she works to address the world’s social, economic and environmental issues. Natasha is a visionary healthcare leader with over 20 years of experience advising multinational companies, nonprofits, foundations, and multilateral agencies on growth strategy, innovative business models, digital health, and cross sector partnerships. She is a vocal advocate for vulnerable and underserved communities. Natasha strives to drive care delivery transformation for health care organizations through financially sustainable, consumer centric, and data driven business models. She has worked with leading digital health platforms to design patient centric solutions, supported over 30 inclusive business models across low and middle-income countries, and advised policy makers on the regulations and investments needed to create robust digital health ecosystems. She was named a Top 50 Women Leader in San Francisco in 2023, and a Top 50 Innovator in 2020 by the World Summit AI community. Natasha holds a Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering from University of Toronto, and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School.