Description

How does a nonprofit grow from delivering school meals to transforming entire food systems?

This episode explores the remarkable journey of Naandi Foundation, one of India’s most influential social innovation organizations. Founded in 1998, Naandi set out to prove that poverty eradication could be tackled at scale through professional management, community participation, and cross-sector partnerships.

We trace Naandi’s evolution from early public-private collaborations in education and nutrition to pioneering hybrid models that blend nonprofit purpose with market mechanisms. The episode dives deep into four flagship innovations:

• Safe drinking water through Naandi Community Water Services, a sustainable village-level water kiosk model
• Araku Coffee, a globally celebrated social enterprise that transformed tribal livelihoods through regenerative agriculture and direct market access
• Education and nutrition, including large-scale Midday Meal operations and Project Nanhi Kali for girls’ education
• Gender-focused innovation, spanning skilling, sports, farming, and leadership for women and adolescent girls

We also examine how Naandi uses data and evidence—such as the landmark HUNGaMA and Teenage Girls (TAG) surveys—to influence national policy, while continuously refining its programs based on community feedback and evaluation.
Key discussion points include:

• How social enterprises can complement government systems
• Blended finance and public-private partnership models
• Scaling impact without losing community trust
• Lessons from building “Arakunomics,” a regenerative and inclusive economic model

This case study offers powerful insights into how social innovation ecosystems are built, scaled, and sustained—and what it takes to turn vulnerability into long-term resilience.

Key words

Naandi Foundation, Social Innovation in India, Public–Private Partnerships
Araku Coffee, Safe Drinking Water Models, Girls’ Education (Nanhi Kali), Regenerative Agriculture, Inclusive Development, Hybrid Social Enterprises, Poverty Alleviation, Gender Equity, Sustainable Livelihoods

Description

What if access to safe drinking water could scale the same way small businesses do?

In this episode, we explore the case of SwissFreshWater, a Switzerland-based social enterprise that delivers affordable, high-quality drinking water to underserved communities through a franchise-based kiosk model. Instead of relying solely on public utilities or aid-driven projects, SwissFreshWater empowers local entrepreneurs to operate neighborhood water kiosks under the Diam’O brand—turning clean water into a sustainable, community-owned service.
We trace SwissFreshWater’s journey from early pilot projects in rural Senegal to a nationwide network of franchised kiosks serving tens of thousands of people daily. The episode unpacks how advanced but rugged water-treatment technology, solar power, IoT monitoring, and preventive maintenance enable reliable service even in low-infrastructure environments.
Key themes include:

• How franchise entrepreneurship can scale essential services
• Blended finance models combining grants, impact investment, and revenue
• Health impacts from reducing waterborne disease and fluoride exposure
• Job creation and women’s economic empowerment through kiosk ownership
• Environmental gains from reduced plastic waste and local water treatment

We also examine the challenges SwissFreshWater faces—from financial sustainability and quality assurance to climate risk and policy alignment—and how its evolving strategy aims to expand the model to multiple African countries in the coming years.

This episode offers a compelling case study in market-based solutions for SDG 6, showing how clean water, local jobs, and environmental impact can flow from the same system.

Key words

SwissFreshWater, Safe Water Kiosks, Franchise-Based Service Models, Water Access in Africa, Senegal Water Innovation, Social Enterprise Case Study, Decentralized Infrastructure, Impact Investing, SDG 6 Clean Water, Water Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development, Climate-Resilient Water Systems

Description

In a country where safe drinking water remains out of reach for millions, innovation is flowing far beyond pipes and pumps.
This episode explores how off-grid and decentralized water services are reshaping access to safe drinking water in Haiti. With limited public infrastructure and recurring political and economic crises, private enterprises, social innovators, and NGOs have stepped in to deliver clean water where centralized systems fall short.
We examine the rise of solar-powered water kiosks, community-managed systems, and entrepreneurial water networks—focusing on pioneers like DloHaiti, which operates decentralized, solar-powered water kiosks that serve rural and peri-urban communities at a fraction of traditional costs. The episode also looks at how financing innovations from Untapped Global emerged directly from Haiti’s challenges, creating new models for funding off-grid infrastructure in fragile markets.

Alongside social enterprises, we explore the role of established providers such as Caribbean Bottling Company (Culligan), NGOs deploying community kiosks, and solar-powered rural water systems that together form a resilient, if imperfect, water ecosystem.

Key themes include:

• How decentralized water kiosks function as micro-utilities
• The economics of selling safe water in low-income settings
• Public health and affordability impacts
• The role of solar power and off-grid technology
• Persistent challenges: insecurity, fuel shortages, maintenance, and scale

This case offers powerful lessons on resilience, entrepreneurship, and delivering essential services in fragile contexts, showing how clean water can still flow—even when systems collapse.

Key words

Off-Grid Water Services, Haiti Water Crisis, Decentralized Infrastructure, DloHaiti
Solar-Powered Water Kiosks, Safe Drinking Water Access, Social Enterprises in WASH, Impact Investing, Fragile States Innovation, Water Entrepreneurship, Public Health and Sanitation, Sustainable Development

Description

When nearly 60% of a city isn’t connected to sewers, what happens to the waste?
This episode examines the rise of Bangalore’s honeysuckers—informal vacuum truck operators who emerged to manage fecal sludge in a city where municipal sanitation systems failed to keep pace with rapid urban growth. Operating in regulatory grey zones, these small private entrepreneurs stepped in to provide a critical public health service: emptying septic tanks and pit latrines for millions of households.

We explore how the honeysuckers program evolved as a bottom-up response to institutional neglect, functioning as an informal public–private partnership long before fecal sludge management became part of official urban policy. The episode traces the business and operating model behind on-demand desludging services, market-driven pricing, innovative waste reuse by peri-urban farmers, and the gradual adoption of technologies such as GPS tracking, route optimization, and digital booking platforms.

The discussion also unpacks the broader impacts of the program—reducing open defecation, virtually eliminating manual scavenging, improving environmental outcomes, and enabling Bangalore to move toward citywide inclusive sanitation. At the same time, we critically examine the challenges that remain: lack of formal regulation, illegal dumping risks, equity concerns for low-income communities, worker safety, and environmental safeguards.

Finally, the episode looks ahead at Bangalore’s future sanitation strategy, including formalizing honeysuckers through licensing, integrating them with sewage and fecal sludge treatment plants, moving toward scheduled desludging, and embedding data-driven sanitation planning into urban governance.
This case offers powerful lessons on informal innovation, urban service delivery, and how cities adapt when institutions lag behind reality.

Key words

Honeysuckers Program, Bangalore Sanitation, Fecal Sludge Management (FSM), Urban Infrastructure Gaps, Informal Sector Innovation, Public–Private Service Delivery, Septic Tank Desludging, Manual Scavenging Elimination, Circular Economy in Sanitation, Urban Public Health, Smart Cities and Sanitation, Inclusive Urban Services

Description

What happens when thousands of qualified women doctors are pushed out of the workforce—while millions of patients remain without access to care?
In this episode, we explore the inspiring journey of Sehat Kahani, a pioneering digital health startup founded by Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram and Dr. Iffat Zafar Aga. Born out of the deeply rooted “doctor-bride” phenomenon in Pakistan, Sehat Kahani set out to solve two massive problems with one bold idea: reconnect home-based female doctors with patients in underserved communities using telemedicine.

From humble beginnings as a spin-off from doctHERs to becoming Pakistan’s first all-female-founded startup to raise a major Series A round, Sehat Kahani has delivered over 2.6 million consultations, built a network of 7,500+ doctors, and reshaped healthcare access across rural and urban Pakistan.
We dive into:

• The cultural and systemic barriers that sidelined women doctors
• How clinic-to-cloud telemedicine transformed healthcare delivery
• The role of COVID-19 in accelerating digital health adoption
• Partnerships with governments, NGOs, and global institutions
• The future of AI-powered, inclusive healthcare from Pakistan to the world

This episode is a powerful case study in social entrepreneurship, digital health innovation, and women-led impact at scale.

Key words

Sehat Kahani, Telemedicine in Pakistan, Digital Health Innovation, Women in Healthcare, Social Entrepreneurship, HealthTech Startups, Gender Equity in Workforce, Rural Healthcare Access, Impact Startups, Case Study Podcast, Female Founders, Healthcare Transformation, Global Health Innovation

Description

In this episode, we explore the journey of Logy.AI, a healthtech startup redefining how oral healthcare is accessed, screened, and delivered—especially in underserved communities.

Founded in India, Logy.AI uses artificial intelligence and smartphone technology to turn everyday photos of the mouth into instant oral health screenings. Through WhatsApp chatbots, web apps, and API integrations, the platform enables people to check for cavities, gum disease, stains, calculus, and other oral conditions without visiting a clinic. What began as a response to the COVID-19 disruption of dental care has evolved into a scalable, AI-powered “front door” to preventive oral health.

The episode unpacks how Logy.AI works behind the scenes—its computer vision models, clinical validation with dental institutions, and partnerships with hospital chains, governments, and global brands like Colgate. We also discuss its impact at scale: hundreds of thousands of people screened across India and Africa, earlier detection of oral disease, reduced burden on dentists, and expanded access in regions with few dental professionals.
Logy.AI’s story shows how AI, when designed for accessibility and embedded into familiar tools like WhatsApp, can shift healthcare from reactive treatment to proactive prevention—making quality screening available anytime, anywhere.

Key words

Logy.AI, AI in dentistry, oral health screening, preventive healthcare, tele-dentistry, healthtech India, smartphone diagnostics, WhatsApp healthcare, inclusive health innovation, emerging markets, AI-powered screening

Description

In this episode, we explore how Bühler Group, a 160-year-old Swiss engineering company, redefined what innovation looks like in the food and grain industry. From the heart of Switzerland to fast-growing markets in Asia and Africa, Bühler has tackled one of food’s toughest challenges: how to modernize staple food production without losing tradition, quality, or nutrition.
We dive into Bühler’s groundbreaking milling innovations - most notably the Isigayo PesaMill, AlPesa systems—which succeeded where others failed by industrializing wholegrain flour while preserving the taste and functionality of traditional stone-milled products. The episode unpacks how deep local insight, customer-centric experimentation, and long-term commitment enabled Bühler to bridge ancient food cultures with cutting-edge technology.
Beyond machines, this story is about inclusive innovation: empowering small millers, improving food safety, increasing yields, and expanding access to nutritious staples. Whether you’re interested in industrial innovation, emerging markets, food security, or sustainable business strategy, this episode reveals how Bühler turned engineering excellence into real-world impact—proving that technology, when designed with people in mind, can truly change how the world eats.

Keywords
Bühler Group, food technology, grain milling, industrial innovation, wholegrain flour, Isigayo, PesaMill, AlPesa, sustainable food systems, inclusive business, emerging markets, food security, Swiss engineering, agribusiness innovation, nutrition, manufacturing strategy

Description

In this episode, we unpack how The Coca-Cola Company solved one of the toughest problems in emerging markets: reaching millions of small, informal retailers where trucks can’t go and infrastructure is limited.

Born in Ethiopia in the late 1990s, Coca-Cola’s Micro-Distribution Center (MDC) model flipped traditional logistics on its head. Instead of relying on large-scale distributors, Coca-Cola empowered local entrepreneurs to run small, neighborhood-based hubs—using handcarts, bicycles, and motorbikes to deliver beverages directly to kiosks and corner shops. The result? Massive market penetration, faster restocking, and thousands of new micro-businesses created across Africa.

The episode goes beyond beverages to explore how the MDC model is now influencing other sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, and financial services. We examine how Coca-Cola’s last-mile playbook has inspired initiatives to deliver medicines, farm inputs, and mobile money to hard-to-reach communities—showing how a distribution innovation can become a blueprint for inclusive growth across industries.

If you’re interested in supply chains, emerging markets, inclusive business, or how one idea can travel far beyond its original industry, this episode offers powerful lessons from the street level up.

Key words

Coca-Cola, micro-distribution centers, MDCs, last-mile delivery, inclusive business, Africa supply chains, informal retail, cross-sector innovation, healthcare distribution, agricultural inputs, entrepreneurship, emerging markets, logistics strategy