At a recent student-led discussion at London Business School, the LBS Healthcare Club, in collaboration with Women in Business and the Entrepreneurship Club, had the privilege of engaging with the founder and CEO of Praava Health, one of the fastest-growing healthcare providers in South Asia. The conversation was moderated by Ruwani Hettiarachchi, LBS Sloan Fellow 2024. With a background spanning law, public policy, and management consulting, Sylvana Quader Sinha has carved out a unique path in healthcare entrepreneurship. Her personal journey has shaped Praava Health’s mission to provide high-quality, patient-centric healthcare in Bangladesh.
The global healthcare landscape is evolving rapidly, especially in emerging markets where systemic challenges such as limited infrastructure, resource constraints, and uneven access to quality medical care is a persisting challenge. Governments, non-profits, and entrepreneurs are working to address these issues through innovative models that integrate technology, public-private partnerships, and innovative financing mechanisms. For instance, in India, the rise of telemedicine platforms has improved rural healthcare access, while in Africa, drone – based medical supply chains are transforming drug and vaccine delivery in remote areas. Additionally, impact investment funds, like those led by the IFC and the Gates Foundation, are driving infrastructure expansion and supporting community-led clinics. Entrepreneurs play a crucial role in bridging the existing gaps in access to quality healthcare by leveraging industry expertise and an understanding of local healthcare needs, which enable them to develop scalable models that improve healthcare accessibility and affordability. As they are required to navigate challenging local environments, entrepreneurs are increasingly collaborating with public health initiatives and multinational partnerships to grow their footprint and create long-term impact.
From Policy to Entrepreneurship
Sylvana Quader Sinha is a Bangladeshi American entrepreneur who grew up in the United States while maintaining deep ties to Bangladesh. With degrees from Columbia Law School and Harvard University, she built a career spanning law, foreign policy, and economic development, focusing on international affairs and working with institutions like the World Bank. A turning point in Sylvana’s career came when she faced a family medical emergency in Bangladesh, exposing the country’s lack of quality medical care. Determined to address this gap, she founded Praava Health, a vertically integrated healthcare provider offering primary and secondary care, diagnostics, and pharmacy services. “I realised that no amount of money could guarantee high-quality healthcare in Bangladesh,” she said.
The Fundraising Journey: Rethinking Healthcare Investment Models
Praava Health’s fundraising journey highlights the structural challenges in financing healthcare ventures in emerging markets. Less than 2% of Venture Capital money in the U.S. goes to female-led startups, and VCs overwhelmingly favours tech and e-commerce, leaving healthcare especially infrastructure-heavy models at a disadvantage. “Traditional venture capital isn’t suited for healthcare, particularly in markets like Bangladesh,” she argued. “It takes time to build trust and scale operations, which doesn’t align with the typical 3-to-5-year VC exit timeline.” As a female founder, she also faced additional scrutiny, often being questioned with more scepticism than her male counterparts.
These challenges made it clear that traditional VC models weren’t well suited for Praava Health. Instead, the company relied on angel investors, many of whom shared its long-term vision. “We’ve been lucky to have investors who believe in our mission,” she said. However, she emphasised the need for new asset classes to support businesses providing essential services in emerging markets, similar to how infrastructure funds support large-scale projects.
Addressing the Trust Gap in Healthcare
Operating in a market with deeply rooted interests presents considerable obstacles. “Healthcare systems in many emerging markets face significant structural challenges,” she noted, highlighting issues such as unregulated medical practices, over-prescription of tests, counterfeit drugs, and resistance to the concept of family medicine. Government intervention plays a crucial role in addressing these systemic challenges. Regulatory oversight, investment in public healthcare infrastructure, and policy incentives for collaboration between the public and private sector are key levers governments can use to rebuild trust in domestic healthcare. Public-private partnerships can enhance healthcare delivery, for example, in India government collaborations with private hospitals have expanded access to secondary and tertiary care for low-income populations. Such partnerships leverage private sector efficiency alongside public funding and oversight.
One of the key challenges Praava Health is tackling is the widespread distrust in the local healthcare system in Bangladesh. Patients travelled abroad, for example to India, for routine medical procedures, a trend that underlines the systemic failures in local healthcare. “Patients weren’t just leaving for specialised surgeries they were crossing borders for basic diagnostics,” Sylvana explained.
Building trust is one of the main challenges entrepreneurs in emerging markets face. Some ways to address these gaps is by developing structured accreditation processes, strengthening medical training programs, and ensuring rigorous quality control across diagnostics, pharmacy services, and primary care. For instance, companies in India have implemented standardised protocols to provide high-quality, cost-effective medical services, while firms like Zipline in Rwanda use drone technology to improve medical delivery to remote areas. As some focus on international accreditation to improve quality, others develop digital platforms to ensure transparency and continuity of care. By building patient confidence through reliability and innovation, entrepreneurs are creating scalable models that can be adapted to different regions.
In Praava’s case their commitment to quality and trust proved vital during the COVID-19 pandemic, which became a major turning point for the business. As one of the first private labs authorised to conduct COVID testing, the company played a crucial role in national response efforts, providing home testing services and partnering with the Bangladeshi government.
Technology and AI in Healthcare: A Cautious Approach
While technology is increasingly seen as a universal solution for healthcare challenges, Sylvana remains cautious about its application. “I’m bullish on AI for operational efficiencies, but sceptical about AI in diagnosis at least for now,” she stated. “Healthcare isn’t a ‘move fast and break things’ industry. Praava Health is leveraging AI to improve workflow efficiencies, predict patient demand, and enhance data analytics. However, she stressed that human touch remains irreplaceable, particularly in emerging markets where trust in healthcare providers is fragile.
The Future of Praava Health
Praava Health has served over 700,000 patients and is on track to reach one million within the next year. The company recently achieved profitability – a milestone that opens new possibilities for growth. “Our focus now is on expanding access while maintaining quality,” she said. Plans include launching new clinics, enhancing digital capabilities, and expanding partnerships with corporate clients to offer more employer-sponsored healthcare.
As she reflected on her journey, Sylvana offered a word of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: “The best reason to start a company is because you are obsessed with solving a problem. Healthcare is not a ‘quick exit’ industry. It requires resilience, adaptability, and a deep commitment to impact.”
Balancing Private Healthcare with Broader Access
While Praava Health presents a model for improving healthcare quality in Bangladesh, its impact extends beyond the patients it serves directly. Private providers primarily often focus on segments that can afford to pay for services or employer – sponsored insurance, leaving parts of the population reliant on underfunded public healthcare systems. As private healthcare expands, it could either relieve pressure on overcrowded public healthcare system or exacerbate inequality by drawing medical talent and resources away from government facilities. The long – term impact of private healthcare depends on how well it is integrated with public health initiatives. Policies that encourage collaboration between private providers and the public sector, such as shared infrastructure investments, could help ensure that improvements in healthcare quality reach a broader population.
A Broader Conversation on Emerging Market and Healthcare
The discussion underlined broader themes relevant to healthcare entrepreneurship in emerging markets—balancing profitability with impact, navigating complex environments, and redefining investment models. Entrepreneurs must address the challenges of affordability and accessibility while building healthcare businesses that can scale. In many regions, fragmented health infrastructure, inconsistent regulatory oversight, and limited public sector funding create barriers to universal healthcare access. However, innovative approaches—such as mobile health clinics and drone technology used for remote delivery of medications – demonstrate how technology can bridge some of these gaps. However, funding remains a major challenge. Traditional venture capital favours rapidly growing industries, making it difficult for healthcare start-ups to secure investments. While impact funds and development finance institutions provide some support, there is growing demand for new asset classes to support businesses providing essential services in emerging markets. Outcome – based financing and the rise of healthcare – focused private equity in Africa and Southeast Asia show the start of a shift toward more suitable ways of financing. As global healthcare systems struggle with cost, quality, and accessibility, emerging markets present valuable lessons in scalable and impactful solutions. Entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers must work together to align funding models with the realities of local healthcare sectors. The path ahead is not without obstacles, but as Sylvana noted, “Healthcare is the ultimate long game. If you build it right, the impact can be transformational.”
About the author
Gabriela Tomova (MIF 2025) is a Masters in Finance student at London Business School. Prior to the MiF, she completed her undergraduate studies in Economics at Erasmus University and worked at the London office of JPMorgan in product development with a focus on fintech and technology in capital markets. Gabriela is an intern for the Wheeler Institute, contributing to the creation of content that amplifies the role of business in improving lives.