Stop TB Partnership and Bamboo Capital Partners to re-imagine TB care by deploying blended finance investments in TB affected countries

16 June 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - The Stop TB Partnership announced today that it has formally signed a partnership agreement with Bamboo Capital Partners. Through this partnership both parties will focus on sourcing, financing, and rolling-out impactful health technologies for tuberculosis (TB), other respiratory-based illnesses, such as COVID-19, and across communicable and non-communicable diseases. This effort aims to re-imagine care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and emerging markets, including TB affected countries, by modernizing health systems and transforming when, where, and how communities and people access care.

The HEAL fund, a US$ 75 million blended finance investment vehicle, will leverage US$ 15 million in catalytic funding to incentivize and unlock US$ 60 million of private institutional investment capital. This fund will focus on providing early-stage financing for innovations that will transform health systems by catalyzing community- and home-based care for all people, including the most marginalized communities.

As part of this partnership, in addition to providing capital to innovators to further commercialize their solutions and unlike other impact investment funds, the Stop TB Partnership’s Accelerator for Impact (a4i) platform, with support from the Country & Community Support for Impact team and TB REACH initiative, will provide fit-for-purpose product launch/technical support for critical downstream activities to optimize and accelerate the roll-out of these impactful health technologies.

"Even prior to COVID-19, the Stop TB Partnership has been at the forefront of leveraging digital health technologies to make it as convenient and easy as possible for people to access TB care,” said Dr. Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership. “We need to move away from a model where people need to travel hours to access health services that can be provided at or close to people’s homes. This is why we are excited to be partnering with Bamboo Capital Partners on the HEAL fund – to make this dream into a reality.”

“The ongoing recovery from COVID-19 has emphasized the importance of technology in the fight against infectious diseases. We are therefore proud to be partnering with the Stop TB Partnership on HEAL, a fund focused on modernizing health systems and transforming how some of the poorest communities in the world access healthcare,” said Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, Founder and Managing Partner at Bamboo Capital Partners. “We are excited to work with a great, like-minded organization that is equally dedicated to creating the strongest possible impact for underserved populations in developing countries. This innovative public-private partnership will provide an unparalleled platform to succeed in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

The partnership between the Stop TB Partnership and Bamboo Capital Partners falls within the context of the SDG500 platform, a US$ 500 million investment platform that aims to accelerate progress towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals across six distinct thematic investment funds. The platform already includes other United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Trade Center (ITC), United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and CARE Enterprises.