Understanding digital health markets to maximize double bottom-line opportunities

Digital health in LMICs has enormous market potential, but that potential has yet to be clearly defined. Can one profit in serving families that live on less than $2 per day? What do we need to find out to make the case to investors that digital health in LMICs can be a good investment? The heterogeneity of digital health interventions and stark differences in technical requirements across contexts are just two of the characteristics that make the digital health market unique. How can we define and segment these markets? • Is it possible to segment digital markets based on income, infrastructure and capacity considerations to arrive at segment-specific problem statements? Would this help digital health businesses better understand the market potential for their product? • If a country wanted to scale a comprehensive package of digital health interventions, are there price points that are affordable for buyers and sustainable for suppliers? • Given digital health’s market heterogeneity, how does the double bottom-line of social and financial ROI vary across and within markets, or market segments? What does it take to reach a supply-demand equilibrium in each segment? Digitally-enabled innovations in health can improve quality of life and extend life expectancy, and already are doing so for many people. If we act now to deepen our understanding of both social and financial returns in digital health in LMICs, and build a compelling investment case, we will be able to build digital health markets that serve the poor, extend the benefits of these innovations at massive scale and accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage.