This spring, the William Davidson Institute supported 13 partner projects in nine countries involving more than 75 University of Michigan graduate students as part of their MBA degree program.
WDI organized a total of nine multidisciplinary action projects (MAPs) with partners in India, Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Vietnam. The MAP experience at U-M’s Ross School of Business is designed to help part-time, full-time and online students hone their analytical, project management and leadership skills while helping to solve real business challenges at participating companies and nonprofit organizations.
Four other projects as part of the WDI-supported graduate MBA course, BA 685: Healthcare Delivery in Emerging Markets, took place in the Dominican Republic, Ghana, India and Kenya. WDI also supported 12 students traveling to Nigeria and Ghana to conduct due diligence on companies under consideration by the International Investment Fund, as well as an independent study for one student.
Learn more about the projects and their objectives below.
TIP Global Health, Kigali and Ruli, Rwanda.
Objective: Conduct a financial analysis of the current digital health platform used to support healthcare providers in Rwanda, and develop a recommendation for pricing to implement and support the platform for other government health systems.
Boston Medical / Busoga Health Forum, Kampala, Uganda.
Objective: Working with an imaging business in Ethiopia and partners in Uganda, a team conducted market analysis and market entry strategy to extend the imaging services into Uganda.
PowerTrust, Accra, Tamale and Sunyani, Ghana.
Objective: Identify and develop a systematic way to capture, validate and communicate the value of distributed renewable energy credits (DRECs) in Ghana.
International Clinical Laboratories, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Objective: A feasibility study for developing manufacturing and supply hubs for clinical laboratory inputs in Addis Ababa Ethiopia for diagnostics laboratories located throughout Africa.
Distributed Fertilizer New Product Commercialization, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda.
Objective: Develop a comprehensive market analysis and market entry strategy for a technology that allows for production of fertilizer at a smaller scale and lower energy cost in South Africa and Rwanda. The technology would significantly reduce the supply chain risks and potentially the costs to farmers and co-ops in these markets.
Poornatha Madurai, India.
Objective: Develop a plan to increase Poornatha’s business-to-consumer model complete with specific offerings tailored to consumers.
Solagron, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Objective: Conduct market analysis and develop a market entry strategy for high-protein, spirulina-based products by Solagron.
Two additional projects at Kisii Eye Hospital and a partner in the Michigan Academy of Development Entrepreneurs in Vietnam are planned for summer 2023.
Clínica de Familia La Romana, Romana, Dominican Republic.
Objective: Develop a financial model for adding GI services to the existing operations at the clinic.
International Center for Rehabilitation, Kumasi, Ghana.
Objective: Develop recommendations for improving the efficiency of the clinic and doubling the capacity of the existing rehabilitation clinic.
Kisii Hospital Vision Center, Kisii, Kenya
Objective: To develop a protocol for establishing vision centers around Kisii and develop recommendations for potential new locations.
Poovanthi (LiveWell): Chennai, India
Poovanthi was established over 10 years ago and has expanded to 100 beds at its original facility outside of Madurai and 30 beds at a recently opened facility in Chennai. This team’s objective was to develop a five-year strategic plan to support Poovanthi’s expansion plans.
Learn more about WDI Student Opportunities.
Clinica de Familia was established to serve as a comprehensive family care clinic that provides quality care to people throughout La Romana province. Over the past year, work with DR has focused on potential revenue generating models that could be used by CdF to support its overall cost structure. The first project developed recommendations on imaging equipment. The second focused on the profitability of a gastroenterological clinic and a third looked at adding dental services to the new clinic.
Clinica de Familia (Cdf) is a community-based comprehensive health organization located in Dominican Republic. With the goal to graduate from international donor support to financial self-sustainability, the healthcare team worked with CdF to find new ways to increase revenue, thereby supporting the provision of HIV services toward the care of those in vulnerable populations. WDI also developed a Business 101 crash course to assist CdF in building knowledge around what it means to create a sustainable business model in addition to developing the business case and investor pitch for a prospective dermatology clinic.
This white paper is a modest contribution to the existing body of knowledge on potential revenue benefits from taxation of “bads” in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We seek to provide orders-of-magnitude responses to the questions, “For 16 LMICs, what amount of additional government revenue could have been generated in 2016 if higher excise tax rates had been imposed on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages?”, and “How does this additional government revenue compare to select national economic indicators?”.
As part of the the Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus USAID-funded project led by Abt Associates, WDI provided diagnostic and consultative services on revenue generation and operational efficiency for four HIV-focused NGOs in the cities of La Romana and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. These four organizations had historically received a significant portion of their funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and were preparing for transition to sustainable social enterprise models. WDI’s onsite diagnostic and related technical assistance was highly customized to the business models and needs of the individual organizations. The WDI team developed actionable recommendations for the NGO decision makers on how they could modify their strategies and/or operations to work towards financial sustainability. Return visits were made to assess progress and provide additional assistance to the organizations. WDI also provided consulting services to one of the NGOs, Clinica de Familia, for the development of a sustainable business model for its new dermatology clinic.