Convergence has awarded a proof-of-concept grant under the Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator to Save the Children Global Ventures to support the advancement of the Asia Healthcare Fund, a USD 30-50 million blended finance equity vehicle designed to expand access to quality healthcare services for underserved populations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The Fund will provide early- and growth-stage capital to scalable health solutions improving access to diagnostics, nutrition, and community-based care.
Across the region, healthcare systems remain under-resourced and unevenly distributed, particularly in underserved and rural communities. High out-of-pocket costs, limited access to quality providers, and fragmented delivery systems continue to constrain health outcomes. At the same time, healthcare enterprises operating in areas such as primary care, diagnostics, digital health, and supply chains often face significant barriers to accessing appropriate growth capital, limiting their ability to scale and reach underserved populations.
The Asia Healthcare Fund aims to address this gap by providing equity capital to scalable healthcare businesses across priority markets in the Indo-Pacific region. The fund targets investments in sectors such as primary healthcare, maternal and child health, diagnostics, health distribution, and digital health platforms, with a focus on models that improve access, and quality of care.
The fund is structured as a blended finance vehicle combining catalytic and commercial capital, with catalytic capital helping attract private investors. By leveraging Save the Children’s extensive regional presence and partnerships, alongside technical collaborators such as leading healthcare institutions, the fund aims to target 5 million children and train over 100,000 women health workers, especially by leveraging Save the Children’s regional network and expertise.
Design question and learning potential from the market: How can a blended finance fund be structured to mobilize private capital into underserved healthcare markets while improving quality and access for women and children in Southeast Asia and the Pacific?
Save the Children Global Ventures’ approach leverages its deep sector expertise, local presence, and long-standing partnerships across the region. By combining investment capital with technical assistance and strong impact frameworks, the fund aims to build a robust pipeline of investable healthcare enterprises and demonstrate scalable models for delivering inclusive healthcare in frontier and emerging markets.
Accelerator’s support will enable Save the Children to further strengthen the fund’s financial and legal structuring, advance investor engagement toward first close, refine its impact and gender frameworks, and expand pipeline development. These activities will position the fund to mobilize additional capital and deliver measurable improvements in healthcare access and outcomes across the region.
