Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 459,692 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,236 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,366 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,236 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,366 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,208 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 459,692 cutting edge ideas.

Stephanie Koczela, Co-Founder of Penda Health (INTERVIEW)

— December 10, 2011 — Social Good
We've previously featured Penda Health, a Kenya-based social enterprise that delivers a range of high quality medical services and products just for women. Unlike other clinics in the region, Penda charges patients a small fee -- not too much that it becomes unaffordable to low and middle income women, but enough to ensure the provision of top quality care -- and to make the model sustainable.

In the interview below, Penda Health co-founder Stephanie Koczela shares a touching anecdote about a mother and child that fueled her drive to become a social entrepreneur, she shares where the business model came from, and she offers her playful secrets to staying inspired.

4 Questions with Stephanie Koczela

1. How did the idea for the business model come about?
Low and middle income individuals in developing countries are seen as only being able to access healthcare services if they are free, and yet this same population spent billions of dollars on healthcare in 2006 (WHO). The problem is that the quality of the services available is extremely low.

Penda Health believes that by working with factories in industrial areas of Africa, we will be able to increase the client to health provider ratio in such a way that we will be able to keep costs lower than typical health clinics while also remaining committed to the provision of quality services.

2. How did you decide to join this sector?
My co-founders and I have all been working with the low and middle income sector of Kenya for the past 3-5 years. We have collectively seen a need for improved access to quality healthcare for this segment. Each of us has personal relationships that have been affected by the lack of access, and this frustrated us and made us wish things could change.

In June 2011, we stumbled across a study that was done by USAID that showed that if the Kenyan government were to spend $71 million on providing access to family planning services to the Kenya population, it would save the country $271 million over the next 10 years on other social sectors such as maternal health, water and sanitation, malaria prevention, etc. This study inspired us to want to provide increased access to family planning services specifically.

We started talking to women to see if there would be anything we could do to improve access to quality healthcare and how best to improve access to family planning services. After talking to 1,000 women, we decided that we would be able to provide high quality and increase access by opening a chain of small health centres, and Penda Health was born.

3. How do you get your inspiration?
My personal inspiration came from a little baby named Lucky. Lucky was born to a 20-year-old single mother who was sick when she got pregnant, which lead to him being born 3 months premature. His mother passed away when he was 2 months old.

Once Lucky's mother died, Lucky was taken by his grandmother to a government hospital for care. He got sicker and sicker there. I found him after he'd been there for 3 weeks and was likely to pass away within 48 hours. I got the government hospital to release him and rushed him to a private hospital, but it was no help. We spent thousands of dollars trying to undo the harm done by the low quality care he received in the previous hospital days. In the end, he passed away despite receiving excellent care for weeks before his death.

It broke my heart and infuriated me at the same time. It's unacceptable that the quality of health varies so much depending on how much money you can pay. And it infuriates me that his mother will not make the impact that she might have made in Kenya just because she did not have access to birth control.

It was in the wake of Lucky's passing that I felt inspired to dive head-first into making Penda Health a reality.

4. How do you reset yourself to be creative? Do you have any rituals?
I love to go running with a friend of mine in Central Park. It helps me clear my head and get ready to dive back into my work when I am overwhelmed. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I like to lie on the floor and throw a ball up in the air when I am trying to think through something. A bit strange... but it works for me! :)
Trend Themes
1. Increased Access to Quality Healthcare - The trend of providing increased access to quality healthcare services for low and middle income individuals in developing countries through innovative business models.
2. Family Planning Services - The trend of focusing on improving access to family planning services specifically in low and middle income countries, inspired by the potential cost savings and social impact.
3. Industrial Area Health Clinics - The trend of setting up health clinics in industrial areas of Africa to lower costs while maintaining the provision of quality healthcare services.
Industry Implications
1. Healthcare - The healthcare industry can explore innovative approaches to provide affordable and high-quality services in developing countries, with a particular focus on family planning and improved access.
2. Social Entrepreneurship - The field of social entrepreneurship can capitalize on the opportunity to address the healthcare needs of low and middle income individuals by developing sustainable business models that deliver quality services at affordable prices.
3. Manufacturing - The manufacturing industry can collaborate with healthcare providers to produce cost-effective medical products and equipment that meet the quality standards required for improved healthcare services.
3.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness