About
HiVE is LSTM’s pioneering virtual incubator, which aims to identify and test new ideas for global health by bringing together virtual teams across borders, sectors, and disciplines.
We know from working in the field across the world that there is no shortage of talented and motivated individuals who are driven to make a difference in their communities, countries and beyond. There is, however, a shortage of opportunities for these individuals to reach their full potential; we believe the HIVE could be the key to unlocking it.
HiVE aims to identify innovative, fresh-thinking and applicable ideas that address global health issues. HiVE follows the traditional idea of an accelerator, but with some twists. Participants are matched with a team of virtual mentors and advisers drawn from a multi-disciplinary HiVE College of Experts, to help challenge and refine their idea for real-world application.
HiVE is geared towards encouraging participation amongst those in low and middle-income countries; delivered entirely through an innovative virtual platform, in a flexible manner. Our participants don’t have to leave their jobs, family or country to participate and our mentors can give as much or as little time as they can spare.
Our ‘graduates’ leave the HiVE with the core skills needed to develop competent funding proposals, the confidence to develop them, an amazing network of contacts and a refined and fundable proposal which could potentially hold the next breakthrough in global health.
Progress so far...
HiVE is currently in a pilot phase with 20 participants in Ghana identified and in the process of being matched. These are split evenly across four regions, enabling us to test HiVE in urban and rural settings and primary and tertiary cities. The ideas proposed are highly diverse, ranging from naturally-derived water treatments, waste composting and mobile technology and microfinance innovations; to stroke rehabilitation, training simulations and curriculum development. 30% of this inaugural cohort are female.
Several of the HiVE Pioneers are representing wider project teams, so we expect that the curriculum and skills development will be shared wider than just this cohort. The longer-term impact of some of these ideas (if successfully funded and scaled in the future) has the potential to benefit thousands of Ghanaians through the advancement of the country’s health system.
Once we have tested HiVE in Ghana we plan to run the programme in Kenya and Malawi too. This will provide a better sense of what works where and how, and how we will scale to a Pan-African and eventually, a global initiative. The digital nature of HiVE provides great flexibility, with the platforms accessible via laptops or smartphones, even with limited connectivity.
