How Emerging Markets Use Partnerships to Leapfrog in Health Innovation

Building sustainable health systems in emerging economies is one of the biggest challenges of our time. And following the path of established health systems in developed economies is not the answer. Many types of innovation are available today, giving emerging economies an opportunity to bypass development stages that were previously unavoidable and to sidestep the pitfalls of entrenched systems.

BCG partnered with the World Economic Forum on a three-year initiative to develop strategies that ensure health systems are financially sustainable and can deliver high-quality, cost-effective, and accessible care in emerging economies. Over the course of this partnership, we have mapped out an extensive portfolio of leapfrogging innovations, developed a strategy for scaling up those innovations, and illustrated the path forward through several prominent case studies. This third and final report in the leapfrogging series, Health Systems Leapfrogging in Emerging Economies: Ecosystem of Partnerships for Leapfrogging, focuses on catalyzing change through an “ecosystem approach” to partnerships. To effectively implement health care innovations, the concept of public-private partnerships will need to evolve from the traditional bilateral and transactional models to an ecosystem of partnerships, where sustainability is a key objective. By successfully mobilizing and coordinating an ecosystem of large corporations, startups, NGOs, international and academic institutions, as well as health policy makers, we have the opportunity to transform health systems in emerging economies.