SAMRIDH conducted a ‘Masterclass’ for the Grand Challenge winners of NHA’s Market Access Program (MAP), on February 5, 2021. SAMRIDH Blended Finance Facility (BFF) is a critical vehicle to mobilise funds for commercial validation and scale up needs of the selected winners. The objective of the ‘Masterclass’, therefore, was to give them an introduction to SAMRIDH and its offerings.

The session mainly focused on:

1) explaining the different blended financing tools the BFF can offer;

2) highlighting the advantages of blended financing over funds raised through private equity, and

3) showcasing hypothetical usecases to highlight practical implications of leveraging blended financing instruments.

In addition, the presentation gave an overview of the program’s approach and structure, emphasising on its end-goal of improving access to affordable and quality healthcare services for most socio-economically vulnerable population.  The session was led by Ravichandaran Natarajan, Dr. Manjunath Shankar and Archish Gupta from SAMRIDH Technical Support Unit (TSU), and 11 of the 14 Grand Challenge winners/Runner-ups were present. The presentation was followed by an interactive round of Q & A, that enabled the TSU to further clarify the eligibility criteria and application process of SAMRIDH.