Frontlines is an IYHP initiative covering interesting career trajectories from the world of
healthcare.
For the debut edition, we interview Pavan Ananth who is trained as a biomolecular engineer, and worked in a variety of roles across industries before setting up Pravesh. Pravesh is a boutique go-to-market focused advisory supporting the launch of healthcare innovations in developing markets.
Can you walk us through your career path? In my career, I have had the opportunity to work in different types of organisations from multinational corporations to nonprofits, consulting, start-ups and lastly, entrepreneurship. I was able to navigate my way through these experiences by utilising the “process of elimination”. I started my career with P&G in Singapore, where I picked up strong project management, team management, and leadership skills. While I enjoyed working with P&G, I felt my purpose was missing. This led me to move back to India to do the Jagriti Yatra, and then I enrolled myself in the Young India Fellowship (YIF) at Ashoka University. Following the year-long fellowship, I ventured into governance consulting and startups, eventually zeroing in on starting Pravesh. My interest in healthcare as a sector grew along the way. Through my undergraduate studies in Biomolecular Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), I had a decent understanding of pharmaceutical sciences, nanotechnology, and the inner workings of the human body. However, it was during my tenure at Zipline, a drone logistics company delivering medical products, that my passion for public health truly took flight. My sojourn with Zipline allowed me to traverse across 10 states and visit over 40 sub-centers, PHCs, CHCs, and district hospitals, unravelling the deep-rooted disparity in healthcare services between urban and rural areas. This humbling experience kindled a desire within me to strive for equitable healthcare services for all. Prior to healthcare, I also had some experience working on education transformation projects with state governments during my time at Samagra. I learnt immensely on the approach to public-private partnerships, working with government stakeholders and further honed my leadership skills, however I found education to be a subjective, tricky problem to solve, as compared to healthcare — which I believe, is still fundamentally simple. We all need good health and good healthcare services. In that sense, the end goal in healthcare is objective, however, the orchestration is much more complex. How did this lead to Pravesh? While working with Zipline, I realised the immense potential of healthcare innovation in deepening healthcare access across India, especially in Tier 2, and Tier 3 towns and rural areas. I also saw firsthand the lack of healthcare equity between urban and rural India. This inspired me to expand healthcare access in less-equitable parts of the country by supporting healthcare startups on go-to-market (GTM) strategy, and it eventually led me to found Pravesh, a boutique consulting firm that specialises in helping innovative healthcare startups enter the Indian market. We work closely with healthcare startups to help them tailor their offerings for the Indian healthcare ecosystem, assisting entrants in navigating the complex regulatory environment, finding on-ground partners, and raising capital, amongst other things. We are also expanding our geographical focus this year to a few markets in Africa, where our on-ground partners in the healthcare ecosystem are keen to support in paving a path of least resistance for innovations. What are some of the key challenges that healthcare companies face when entering the Indian market? India is a diverse nation with a 1.3bn population. Entering the Indian healthcare market can be challenging for foreign companies and foreign-made innovations due to various factors. One of the main challenges is navigating the complex regulatory environment, which can be difficult to understand and comply with. There are also cultural and language barriers to overcome, as well as differences in healthcare practices and systems. Another challenge is competition. The Indian healthcare market is highly competitive, with a large number of established players, as well as many emerging startups. To succeed in this market, companies need to differentiate themselves by offering innovative solutions that address the unique needs of the Indian market. Finally, it is important to recognize that India is a vast and diverse country, with different healthcare needs and challenges in different regions. Companies need to take a localised approach and tailor their offerings to specific markets and regions within India. To address these challenges, healthcare companies entering the Indian market need to invest in market research, build strong partnerships with local players, and hire local talent with a deep understanding of the Indian healthcare ecosystem. They also need to be patient and persistent, as building a successful healthcare business in India can take time. What, according to you, are some of the challenges in Public Health in India? India faces several challenges when it comes to public health. One of the biggest challenges is health equity, particularly in rural areas. There is also a lack of infrastructure, resources, and trained healthcare professionals. Additionally, the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases is high in India. Addressing these challenges will require a multi-pronged approach, including improving healthcare infrastructure, increasing healthcare spending, investing in healthcare education and training, and promoting behavioural changes towards preventive healthcare. However, a significant barrier to achieving this is the trust deficit between the healthcare system and the people due to the lack of right incentives. For instance, in India, people often go to see a doctor only when they fall ill, and sometimes this is too late. There’s a pressing need to transition health care from curative to preventive. Many people, including my parents, refuse to get regular checkups done as they fear that the doctor will not always be truthful and fair in their assessment and point out many things that need to be fixed. In developed countries, people have greater trust in the healthcare system and are more proactive about preventive healthcare. Addressing the trust deficit will require efforts to increase transparency and accountability in the healthcare system and to incentivize preventive healthcare. What is one myth in healthcare that people believe to be true? The belief that more money spent on healthcare automatically means better outcomes. The United States is known for having one of the highest healthcare spending rates in the world, yet it does not necessarily have the best health outcomes or access to healthcare services compared to other developed countries. What advice would you give to someone who wants to build a career in healthcare? My advice would be to start gaining a deep understanding of the healthcare ecosystem, both public and private, including key players, trends, and challenges. One should get their hands dirty — market research and white papers only go so far. I suggest going to the grassroots — visiting hospitals, and public health facilities — to understand patient volume and bottlenecks and see for yourself the complexity we face. Most healthcare innovations stem from the personal experiences of founders encountering a problem. Experiencing this firsthand can aid in discovering potential solutions Additionally, building a strong network within the industry and staying updated with the latest developments and innovations is vital which is where communities like IYHP help. Finally, I would encourage anyone interested in healthcare to be patient, persistent, and passionate about making a difference in people’s lives. Can you tell us about your association with IYHP? I have been associated with IYHP for over a year now and have been continually impressed by the calibre of talent and the passion for healthcare that exists within the community. Through my involvement with IYHP, I have had the opportunity to connect with a diverse group of individuals who share the common goal of solving healthcare challenges in India. One thing that I particularly appreciate about IYHP is Dispensary by IYHP. Dispensary provides fresh perspectives on various health issues and helps me stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the field. I have also attended a couple of IYHP events this year, which have been informative and enjoyable. I must say that I have also made some valuable connections through IYHP. In fact, I met one of my founding team members at IYHP, and we have been working together ever since. Overall, I am grateful for the work that IYHP is doing to improve healthcare access and outcomes in India, and I look forward to continuing my engagement with the community.
This session was covered by Rahul Konapur, with ideas and inputs from Aditya Mehta and Rajat Garg. India Young Healthcare Professionals (IYHP) is an India-based professional organisation established in 2020 to bring together emerging leaders from different healthcare domains on a common platform to solve and innovate for India Healthcare. IYHP facilitates this through its eight flagship initiatives which empower young professionals to lead by action and make an impact in India healthcare. Our community of 2,000+ members, with an average age of 26, comes from 25+ states and 100+ cities, represents every sector within healthcare from medical devices and pharma to public health and healthcare policy, and is committed to driving change in the way healthcare is experienced in India. To learn more, visit www.iyhp.org.