ImpactBridge: An Impact Investment Partnership for enhanced diabetes and related NCD care

Objectives

ImpactBridge is an impact investment partnership between the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), We Share Forward Foundation (WSF), and Philips Foundation Impact Investments (PFII). The initiative will use catalytic capital to back early stage social enterprises improving diabetes and related NCD care in low and middle income countries.
The core objective is to establish a co-investment alliance that accelerates equitable, high-quality healthcare by supporting scalable social enterprises. These ventures are selected for their potential to deliver early diagnosis, affordable treatment, and sustainable disease management—particularly for underserved populations.

Approach

ImpactBridge leverages an impact investment model—funding social enterprises that generate measurable health outcomes alongside financial returns. This approach enables long-term sustainability and scalability, while attracting additional mission-aligned investors.
With ImpactBridge, WDF add a complementary tool to our grant-making efforts, accelerating affordable and scalable healthcare for people living in vulnerable settings.

The partnership combines the strengths of three organisations:
• WSF deploy philanthropic capital through reinvestment-focused funding vehicle.
• PFII contributes co-investment capital and expertise in social enterprise development.
• WDF provides catalytic funding and technical guidance on diabetes and NCD interventions.

Through the ImpactBridge partnership, we have already started building a portfolio of social enterprises with an impact-first perspective where we are not just funding ideas; we are investing in proven social enterprises that are already transforming lives in the last mile of healthcare. By investing in these ventures, we ensure that they have the fuel to expand into new territories. The ventures are:

- Last Mile Care (India): Last Mile Care is a social enterprise committed to transforming healthcare access for blue collar workers in India. This is done by establishing one-stop-shop physical and digital centers strategically located near or at workplaces. By integrating physical presence with digital solutions, it provides affordable preventive healthcare services tailored to the specific needs of this often-overlooked group and their families through employer programmes.
- First tranche of investment was completed in August 2025

Access Afya (Kenya):
- Access Afya is a Kenyan social enterprise with a mission to democratise access to high-quality, affordable care for all through micro clinics.
- First tranche of investment was completed in January 2026

iKure (India):
- iKure is a Indian social enterprise that combines clinics, technology, community-centric data, and community engagement to bring affordable, high-quality healthcare to millions in rural and semi-urban India. iKure trains their own Community Health Activists that serve their local communities with doorstep care spanning non-communicable diseases, mother and child health and other health conditions.
- First tranche of investment was completed in April 2026

Bena Care (Kenya):
- Bena Care (BC) is a social enterprise in Kenya providing home-based care and equipment leasing to people living with chronic diseases, especially diabetes and hypertension. BC has also developed East Africa’s first mobile dialysis clinic providing care to patients in a unique public-private partnership.
- First tranche of investment was completed in August 2027

Expected results

With the ImpactBridge partnership, we are looking for impact aligned with WDF’s overall impact indicators including, among others:
• Increased number of people living with diabetes diagnosed and under treatment
• Strengthened availability and delivery of care for diabetes and related NCDs
• Increased availability of opportunities for healthy living and healthy pregnancies

We will assess new investment opportunities against four criteria:
• Accessibility: We prioritise initiatives that expand the reach of healthcare services and create environments conducive to healthy living and healthy pregnancies.
• Affordability: We seek solutions that provide affordable options for care and prevention, specifically targeting lower-income populations and those living in vulnerable situations.
• Quality: We invest in opportunities that enhance the quality of care and preventative measures.
• Scale and Sustainability: We prefer proven models ready for expansion, as well as innovative programmes with a clear, viable roadmap for long-term scalability.

The revolving investment mechanism ensures that returns are reinvested into new ventures, creating a cycle of innovation and impact. By addressing the financing gap for NCDs in low- and middle-income countries, ImpactBridge offers a replicable model for health-focused impact investing.