Technology. The Great Social Enabler.

Last week I had an opportunity to humanise the overwhelming speed of innovation that we have experienced over the past 20 years by exploring how technology has enabled some great social outcomes.

I was speaking at the Alliance & Partnerships for Patient Innovation & Solutions (APPIS ) Summit organised by 诺华 . The summit involved healthcare leaders, patient groups, and experts?focusing?on?accelerating access for?better patient outcomes in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

I understand that the full sessions (including the secret sauce!) will be shared with patient groups in due course, but I wanted to share my positioning statement, in the hope it creates lightbulb moments with my network.

Technology 'amplifies' outcomes.

The future is defined by social change, not technology.

I grew up in Kenya, and spent a lot of time on safari learning about social impact and environmental conservation. But Kenya is also home to one of the most successful payments innovations - M-Pesa. Launched in 2007, M-Pesa ('pesa' means 'money' in Swahili) is a mobile phone-based money transfer, payments and micro-financing service that has been extremely successful.

But this success was not driven by technology (which is wonderfully simple) but rather the social need for a way in which different communities could move money, especially when most of the population is unbanked.

What problem are you solving?

In the start-up world, we often describe this as the problem/solution - what problem is your great idea actually solving? Unfortunately, a lot of start-ups create a solution, and then go looking for a problem to solve after the fact.

So when you step back and look at societal problems, or real-world challenges, you will find ways in which technology can help you solve them.

The Speed of Innovation?

In the 21st century, the speed of innovation has accelerated dramatically, and continues to increase in velocity.

We are now well and truly in the age of Artificial Intelligence (A.I), with tools like ChatGPT testing the limits of our ‘innovation imagination’. But it is that speed of innovation over a short period of time that has allowed us to solve bigger problems - and even save more lives!

The challenge, however, has been the low digital literacy of a mass market to ensure the necessary adoption of new technology. This all changed during the global Coronavirus pandemic, when larger communities (beyond digital natives) turned to technology to solve problems such as community connection (loneliness) and access to services.

Today, video conferencing is now a standard platform to provide telehealth services enabling better patient outcomes across all demographics, leading to improved care and accessibility to clinical trials. And now, A.I has the potential to dramatically?improve medical diagnosis, drug development, and precision medicine.

A brave new world indeed.

The Social Impact of Technology

A key innovation has been to make technology more accessible.

Until recently, accessing technology was in the domain of engineers and developers. Today, certain area's of technology have been democratised through increased accessibility. One such example is an area of technology that I have been involved with for more than 15 years - online fundraising.

Pictured (above, left) is the wonderful Viji Venkatesh, Regional Head, India & South Asia at The Max Foundation . Viji launched Chai for Cancer as an awareness and fundraising campaign using an online platform to showcase community fundraising events across India and, importantly, to receive digital donations.

From charity portals to the hugely popular GoFundMe, we have seen amazing grass roots campaigns come to life without the need for a significant investment in technology - just the right idea and a great story.

Comparison side note: In the FinTech world, we are also witnessing disruption in verticals such as Core Banking thanks, in part, to a different way of accessing technology. Software-as-a-Service is changing the way financial institutions and large enterprises 'consume' technology - providing faster, more agile opportunities to pivot towards changing market demands.

We are everyday heroes!

The speed of innovation has provided incredible opportunities to fix seemingly insurmountable problems. And as communities such as patient groups begin to use technology to communicate and advocate, their impact will be significantly amplified. We can all be heroes, because technology is the great social enabler.

Want to know more?

Please do like/engage with this article. In so doing, when the full session is available for viewing I will post the link in the comments section and you will be automatically notified.

If you’re a patient organisation in Asia Pacific, Middle East or Africa looking for support to grow and scale your innovative patient program, do apply for the?APPIS Innovator Program ?by 7 April 2023. Winners of the program will receive funding, coaching, networking and increased visibility that can help your patient organisation drive greater impact on the ground and bring you closer to achieving your organisation’s mission.

About the APPIS Initiative

Chai for Cancer Website

One of my earlier business ventures, GoFundraise .