CASE 3.2A SAMRIDH Blended Finance Facility: Accelerating Pandemic Response and Building Equitable Health Systems in India (A)

Achin B. N. Biyani leads the fund mobilization for SAMRIDH Blended Finance Facility, an initiative by USAID with the technical support unit at IPE Global. In SAMRIDH, Achin is also involved in deal sourcing to closing, managing partnerships, and structuring innovative financing and blended financing instruments. He brings extensive experience in the development and infrastructure sectors, including working in the areas of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), fund mobilization, policy research, infrastructure financing, procurement, and capacity building. Through partnerships and engagement with non-traditional stakeholders, he has played an active role ranging from the development stage to implementation of the programs. He is a co-author of the papers “Panorama of the Urban and Municipal Sector in India” (Focales, French Development Agency) and “Bibliometric Review of Blended Finance and Partial Risk Guarantee: Establishing Needs and Advantages‚” published in the International Journal of Financial Studies, and he contributed to PPP Practitioners Guide: Contract Management Toolkit and Renegotiations Framework developed by Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He holds an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

Ritika Pandey is an associate director at IPE Global and the lead post award at the SAM- RIDH Blended Finance Facility supported by USAID. She has more than 14 years of experience with an eclectic mix of technical know-how, research acumen, project management, partnership, people management skills, social behavior change, and communication development. She has implemented large-scale projects funded by international multilateral donors for family planning, maternal-child health, and nutrition outcomes. She has managed multiple projects across Africa and Asia and is currently mentoring more than 35 start-ups and healthcare enterprises. She has authored case studies and contributed to articles in magazines including “Promoting Agriculture, Nutrition Convergence through Participatory Extension Videos” for the World Bank. She has a master’s degree in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.

Neeta Rao is a senior health lead with USAID/India, where she focuses on innovative financing portfolios, including blended financing and pay-for-performance models. She provides strategic oversight to USAID’s health investments in the western region of the country. She has worked on health systems strengthening, health financing, research and evaluation, policy, advocacy, community engagement, and program management with the World Health Organization, multinational agencies, governments, and non-government organizations. She has a Masters in Health Administration from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India and has co-authored articles and chapters on health insurance, health accounts, and HIV/AIDS.

Archita Adlakha is an investment manager for the SAMRIDH Blended Finance Facility, an initiative by USAID with the technical support unit at IPE Global. In this role, she manages the investment portfolio of the facility, conducts the financial evaluation of social enterprises, manages partnerships with financial institutions and private investors, and structures innovative financing and blended financing instruments. She has over 5 years of experience working in the financial services and development finance sectors. She is the lead author for India’s first policy white paper on blended finance, “Reimagining Healthcare in India through Blended Finance.” She received a master’s degree in International Business and Management from Delhi University and holds a graduate degree specializing in business and finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai.

Sudheer Nadipally is the monitoring, evaluation and learning expert at the SAMRIDH Blended Finance Facility, an initiative by USAID with the technical support unit at IPE Global. He brings 19 years of experience across monitoring, evaluation, learning, and project management in the public health and social development sectors. In his previous assignments, Sudheer has been associated with several government, non-government, and non-profit funding organizations as well as research and academic institutions. He has presented his work at industry-wide conferences and has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals. Currently, Sudheer is pursuing his PhD in Health Sciences. He holds an MPhil and an MA in Social Anthropology.