Role of Intellectual Property in Unlocking Growth and Scaling Health-Focused Social Enterprises

Social entrepreneurs are dedicated to developing and implementing solutions that address various challenges, including health, while generating sustainable revenue. Young innovators who are passionate about aligning their work with positive social change are putting their ideas to the test. Intellectual property (IP) is an important factor in protecting, promoting, and propelling these entrepreneurs’ ambitions, including in the health sector.

Social entrepreneurship in health innovation

Social entrepreneurship can assist in improving healthcare, especially in underserved regions. By harnessing mission-focused goals, innovators are creating accessible and affordable health solutions tailored to the needs of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Take for example, Vayu Global Health Innovations, a United States-based company, which is a prime example of social entrepreneurship in healthcare. By developing ultra-low-cost solutions, Vayu addresses pressing global health challenges like hypoxemia – a life-threatening condition of low blood oxygen.

According to Unitaid, hypoxemia contributes to the deaths of approximately 1.6 million children under the age of five each year, especially in LMICs, where access to medical oxygen is limited. Another study has found that hypoxaemia in childhood increases the risk of death substantially. 

While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a proven therapy for infants with respiratory distress, conventional devices are often impractical in LMICs due to their high costs, dependence on electricity and complex supply chains.

As a result, majority of newborns who need CPAP devices do not have access to them, leaving healthcare providers to sometimes use adult-sized CPAP machines for infants – an unsuitable and potentially harmful alternative. Without a controlled blend of oxygen, infants face risks such as blindness, lung damage or brain injury.

In response, Vayu developed the first-ever Bubble CPAP and Oxygen Blender systems, which provide safe, precise oxygen therapy for infants and newborns in low-resource settings. These devices operate without electricity, are easy to use and maintain, and, at a cost of approximately US $400, are a fraction of the price of traditional CPAP devices which can run an average of US $1,500 or more for standard models.

Additionally, Vayu granted manufacturing rights to Revital Healthcare, a Kenyan medical device manufacturer. This helped enable local production and technology transfer. Notably, this partnership fosters economic growth, strengthens local healthcare infrastructure and ensures the consistent availability of life-saving equipment.

To date, over 160,000 babies in 31 countries have benefitted from Vayu’s innovations, advancing progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2, which aims to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age. Through innovative, scalable, and accessible solutions, Vayu Global Health Innovations shows how social entrepreneurship is helping to address healthcare inequities and deliver meaningful, life-saving solutions.

Intellectual property and social entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship holds immense promise to address global challenges in health, education, and beyond. However, many social enterprises fail to fully utilize a critical resource that can amplify their impact: IP.

While some organizations, such as Vayu Global Health Innovations, have secured patents to protect their unique solutions, most social enterprises do not pursue IP rights due to limited awareness of the potential advantages of IP.

IP protections, such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs and copyright, can help social enterprises generate additional revenue, build their brand value, and attract investors and partners. By understanding and leveraging various IP rights, health-focused social enterprises can overcome key barriers to their growth.

For example, one of the most common challenges social entrepreneurs face globally is financing. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lack physical assets, such as office buildings or machinery, that could serve as collateral for traditional loans.  This makes these financing channels difficult to access.

Intangible asset financing refers to the process of securing funding using intangible assets – such as, but not limited to, patents, trademarks, copyrights – as collateral or a basis for valuation. Unlike traditional asset-based financing, which relies on tangible assets like real estate or machinery, intangible asset financing recognizes the economic value of IP. This allows businesses to secure funding through IP assets.

Social enterprises can use IP to support both debt and equity financing. In equity financing, patents, trademarks or proprietary technology act as valuable assets to attract investors by highlighting a company’s unique positioning and future revenue potential.

In debt financing, IP can serve as collateral, which helps reduce lender risk by securing rights to these assets if a company defaults. This use of IP as security can also lead to more favorable borrowing terms.

Strategic use of IP assets may therefore provide a viable solution to bridge the funding gap faced by many social enterprises. This approach not only fuels innovation and broadens access to critical medical products but also contributes to economic growth and job creation.

Building IP strategies for health-focused social enterprises

For social enterprises focused on health innovation, a well-structured IP strategy can be transformative. It strengthens and propels the business by boosting revenue, valuation, recognition and partnerships, while also enabling businesses to achieve greater public health impact.

WIPO’s IP for Business Division provides resources and tools to help enterprises effectively use their IP rights to access financing and attract investors. Programs such as the ‘IP Management Clinic for SMEs’  provide innovative companies, including social enterprises, with mentorship, training in IP management and valuation, and tools for branding, licensing and franchising. These resources equip social entrepreneurs to build robust IP frameworks that protect, scale and sustain their innovations, amplifying their reach and effectiveness.

Creating a supportive ecosystem for health-focused social enterprises

Health-focused social enterprises, at the intersection of innovation and social impact, have the potential to transform global health through scalable solutions that serve marginalized populations.

To fully realize this potential, a supportive ecosystem is essential. Governments, the private sector and international organizations can collaborate to create environments that foster innovation, provide resources and support the growth of social enterprises.

Social entrepreneurs, in turn, can maximize their impact by integrating IP strategies that enhance their innovation capacity and maximize their impact.

By building a supportive ecosystem and leveraging the power of IP, these enterprises can drive meaningful, long-term change. The result is a future where healthcare is accessible, equitable and transformative for all – advancing a vision of social entrepreneurship that benefits the most vulnerable while strengthening resilient, inclusive economies.