An entrepreneurial approach to healthcare provision

As I write this, Philips Foundation is providing immediate help to Ukrainian people in need of medical support, as well as refugee relief in Ukraine and its neighboring countries. 2021 was the second year that Philips Foundation had to prove itself as an immediate responder to a global disaster, due to COVID-19 and its effects on health and well-being around the world.

In terms of impact, our approach to expanding access to care for underserved communities went to the next level in 2021, reaching 17.3 million people, up from 7.5 million people in 2020. Even that is way below the bar of our true ambition, but the growth counts, for 10 million more people now can use medical services.

Leading a corporate foundation, I am convinced that donations alone do not sustainably improve a healthcare system. A donation to develop another mobile app, or donating equipment, or funding a societal organization, does not mean lasting change.

Meaningful innovation for impact can only derive from really understanding the local context and needs, cultural behaviors, standard practices, and the potential for task shifting, training, digitalization,collaboration, logistics, insurance, maintenance: these are all just as important for impactful change as money. Lasting change for better healthcare (access)requires a model that itself becomes financially self-sufficient.

Lasting change for better healthcare (access) requires a model that itself becomes financially self-sufficient. This is well understood by some of the social entrepreneurs in healthcare that we want to support in an entrepreneurial way. This is why, in September 2021, we established Philips Foundation Impact Investments B.V. – a separate legal entity under Philips Foundation that is equipped to invest (loans and equity) in innovative ventures and to incubate them.

As we are growing up as an organization, we are also opening up and sharing the knowledge and experience in underserved settings that we have gained in Philips Foundation’s first seven years of existence. Our new Knowledge Hub is intended to capture our learnings and expertise, and to disseminate them to relevant partners. It has also led to a model that we call The Wheel, which is explained later in this report. It contains the nine elements for the success of self-sustaining healthcare provision in low-and middle-income countries.

In conclusion, I wish to express my gratitude for the skilled volunteers, technologies, innovative power and financial support we receive from Philips, as well as the funds raised by its employees in 2021. Philips’ offices worldwide have conducted local activities for the common good. And together, we have actively been working on improving access to care for underserved communities in remote and low-resource settings. We look forward to continued collaboration for true social impact.

Margot Cooijmans
Director of Philips Foundation and Philips Foundation Impact Investments B.V.

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Download Philips Foundation's 2021 Annual Report