High-Impact Growth

The old paradigms of global health are shifting. Nithya Ramanathan, Co-founder & CEO of Nexleaf Analytics, joins us to discuss navigating this new reality and rebuilding for impactful futures. As Nithya powerfully states, "the system has been burned down. this is our moment" – presenting a unique opportunity to redefine how we create impact. We explore Nexleaf's strategic pivots, from for-profit to non-profit, their decision to cannibalize their device business for greater ecosystem impact, and the critical move towards owning outcomes. This episode is a deep dive for social entrepreneurs and global health professionals on reshaping business models and driving sustainable change in a resource-constrained world.

In this episode, we’re joined by Rachel Lindley, Hannah Wichmann, and Samantha Muli from Five Talents to explore a bold shift in how development is done: What if communities—not donors—defined success, owned their data, and led the path forward?

Five Talents supports women entrepreneurs across Eastern Africa through savings groups, but their approach goes far beyond finance. It’s a story of transformation—from traditional microcredit to a savings-led model rooted in literacy, dignity, and community ownership. Along the way, they’ve reimagined monitoring and evaluation—not as a donor checkbox, but as a participatory, empowering process that drives real learning.

In this conversation, we unpack how technology, like CommCare, plays a critical role—not just in digitizing data, but in strengthening trust, visibility, and inclusion at every level. We hear about the approach and impact of one specific program addressing human wildlife conflict in the Tsavo Conservation Area of Kenya. And we reflect on the evolving aid landscape, and what the future could look like if communities were at the center, and technology served as a bridge—not a barrier—to locally led change.

If you’ve ever wondered what truly participatory aid looks like in action, this is the episode for you.

In this episode, we’re joined by Stella Luk, Regional Director at GiveDirectly, and Erin Quinn, Dimagi’s Senior Director of Customer Success, to explore a fundamental question: What if, instead of aid programs deciding what communities need, we simply gave people cash and trusted them to make the best choices for themselves?
GiveDirectly has pioneered direct, unconditional cash transfers to people living in extreme poverty, challenging long-held assumptions about traditional aid. Stella shares powerful insights from the field—how cash empowers recipients with dignity, choice, and long-term impact. We also discuss the skepticism surrounding cash transfers, the evidence supporting their effectiveness, and how technology is helping reach those most in need.
With global development funding in flux, could direct cash transfers be the future of aid? Listen in for a thought-provoking conversation on how this model is reshaping humanitarian response and development efforts worldwide.

In this episode, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by two leaders on Dimagi’s People Operations team – Emily Gutman and Molly Broderick – to delve into what it takes to run Dimagi in a way that’s sustainable for its employees and the planet.. From reimagining performance management systems to demystifying the complexities of climate neutrality, they offer an unfiltered look at the challenges of navigating sustainability in the corporate world. 

Topics include:

• The role of frameworks in supporting sustainability 

• Becoming a certified Benefit Corporation

• How and why Dimagi became Climate Neutral certified

• What it means to be employee-first

• When and how to redesign foundational people systems

• The role of carbon offsets

• The role of AI in a company’s operations and its impact on carbon footprint

The landscape of international aid is shifting rapidly, leaving organizations and communities facing unprecedented challenges. In this episode, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by Gillian Javetski, Managing Director of Dimagi’s Software-as-a-Service division, and Ismaïla Diene, Managing Director of Dimagi's Solutions division, to unpack the impact of massive funding cuts on global health and development efforts.

What does it mean when critical aid funding disappears overnight? How are frontline organizations adapting to continue their life-saving work? And how is Dimagi stepping up to support partners in this time of uncertainty?

Join us for an honest and insightful conversation about the human side of these changes, the resilience of global health partners, and the role of digital solutions in navigating this crisis.

Related Resources:

New Blog: Supporting Our Partners Through Change  

How Dimagi is supporting partners through changes in funding : https://dimagi.com/supporting-our-partners/

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Hosts: ⁠Jonathan Jackson⁠ and ⁠Amie Vaccaro

In this episode, Dimagi product leaders Danny Roberts, Kai Cowger, and Matthew Hayto delve into the challenges and opportunities of building SaaS products for global health. This insightful conversation explores transitioning from donor-driven funding to a product-driven model, focusing on user needs, product sustainability, and scaling for impact. The episode highlights the complexity of aligning revenue and impact in resource-constrained settings, the importance of product marketing, and the lessons learned from scaling solutions like CommCare and SureAdhere. Tune in to discover practical strategies for creating technology that drives meaningful, lasting change in global health.

In this episode, Nora Lindström, Senior Director of ICT4D at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and Erin Quinn, Senior Director of Customer Success at Dimagi join the podcast to discuss the evolving role of the iNGO in the context of localization and advancing local leadership, the intersection of technology and localization in global development, and the ways that technologists in global development can center the people we serve in our work. In the conversation, we learn Nora’s  journey and insights into the transformative power of technology in global development. From empowering local communities with data to navigating the challenges of localization, Nora offers her thinking on balancing tech innovation with human-centered practices.

Key topics:

Tech as an Enabler, Not the Goal

Nora emphasizes the importance of listening deeply to identify real problems before introducing technology. Successful ICT4D involves tailoring solutions to local contexts and needs.

Different Approaches to Enabling Programs with Technology

Erin shares the ways that iNGOs across the sector are equipping their teams with tech tools. Nora shares how it adapts its approach based on the partner and context. 

Empowering Communities with Data

Nota notes global development’s tendency towards extractive data collection practices and highlights her work making data useful for the people it’s about. For example, in Malawi, village committees use CRS-provided data to advocate for local changes.

The Evolving Role of INGOs

As localization gains momentum, CRS is evolving into a capacity-building and knowledge-sharing role, preparing local organizations to lead development initiatives independently.

Building Diverse Teams

Nora highlights the value of diversity within CRS’s ICT4D team, bringing together cross-disciplinary expertise to solve global challenges creatively and effectively.

Show Notes:

In this episode of High-Impact Growth, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro talk with Dr. Charles Elliott, Director of Data Management at Cure Violence Global (CVG), an organization using a public health approach to prevent violence. Dr. Elliott shares insights into how CVG views violence like an epidemic, applying data-driven methods to map and reduce violence in communities around the world.

Dr. Elliott articulates the value of a thoughtful data strategy using a tool like  CommCare to measure and track critical indicators such as violence interruption, behavior change, and norm change. Dr. Elliott highlights that for Cure Violence, technology is not just a tool but a long-term investment that powers program funding, staffing, and programmatic decisions.

The conversation covers the challenges of quantifying the impact of violence prevention, the significance of trust-building in communities, and the role of data in driving both local and national violence prevention strategies. Dr. Elliott also touches on his personal journey from military service to data management, emphasizing the importance of creating systems that empower community workers, who often play a crucial role in violence prevention programs.

Dr. Elliott shares his guidance for other organizations looking to leverage data as a strategic advantage and impact accelerant:

Related Resources:

Cure Violence Global website

The Interrupters - PBS Documentary featuring Cobe Williams, CVG’s National Training Director 

Interrupting Violence by Cobe Williams

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Hosts: ⁠Jonathan Jackson⁠ and ⁠Amie Vaccaro

In this episode of High Impact Growth hosts Amie Vaccaro and Jonathan Jackson, dive into one of Dimagi’s most ambitious and potentially transformative projects to date, CommCare Connect. This platform is designed to improve the jobs of community health workers (CHWs) by equipping them with digital tools to learn new skills, deliver health services, verify their work, and, crucially, get paid for additional work. By doing so, CommCare Connect seeks to address some of the biggest challenges in the global health space, such as the underpayment and disempowerment of CHWs and funding wasted on digital tools that don’t survive the project’s end, while driving better health outcomes globally.

Throughout the conversation, Dimagi team members Mercy Simiyu, Sarvesh Tewari, and Dhivya Sivaramakrishnan, share insights from their direct work on CommCare Connect and with locally led organizations and CHWs across various regions, including Kenya and Malawi. They provide an in-depth look at how CommCare Connect has evolved over the past two years and reflect on early success stories, challenges, and lessons learned. During this conversation we unpack the four pillars of CommCare Connect’s technology:

Show Notes:

CommCare Connect year in review 2023

CommCare Connect public overview

CommCare Connect reaches 100,000 services delivered

CommCare Connect Child Health Campaign RFP (now closed)

For inquiries, ideas or information on how you can get involved please reach out to: [email protected]

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Hosts: ⁠Jonathan Jackson⁠ and ⁠Amie Vaccaro

In today’s conversation, co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by Nan Chen, Co-Executive Director of Africa Frontline First. Africa Frontline First is on a mission to increase financing for community health worker programs across Africa to save and improve lives. Half of the world's population lack access to essential health services and community health workers, who expand primary health services door-to-door even in the hardest to reach communities, are an essential part of the solution. But financing remains the primary challenge to scale and sustain community health worker programs, despite a 10:1 return on investment. Today’s conversation centers on the ways that Africa Frontline First, a partnership from the Community Health Impact Coalition, the Financing Alliance for Health, and Last Mile Health, is working to make financing more available and effective for these life-saving programs, as well as the role of technology in accelerating impact.

Show Notes:

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Hosts: ⁠Jonathan Jackson⁠ and ⁠Amie Vaccaro