Despite ongoing discrimination, women entrepreneurs are reshaping the Global South, with crucial support from the UN – UN News

Report on Sustainable Innovation and Gender Equality in Industry: The Case of Drop Access

1.0 Executive Summary

This report examines the case of Norah Magero, founder of the Kenyan health-tech company Drop Access, as an exemplar of innovation aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative, supported by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), highlights the critical intersection of health, clean energy, gender equality, and sustainable industrialization. The development of the “Vacci Box,” a solar-powered mobile refrigerator, addresses significant infrastructure gaps in rural healthcare delivery while simultaneously advancing the role of women in technology and entrepreneurship.

2.0 Case Study: Drop Access and the Vacci Box Innovation

The Vacci Box was developed in response to a critical challenge in eastern Kenya and other remote regions: the lack of reliable electricity for the cold-chain storage of essential medical supplies. This innovation directly contributes to building resilient infrastructure and promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization (SDG 9).

1. Problem Identification: Inconsistent electricity access in rural health clinics jeopardizes the viability of heat-sensitive medical products, including vaccines, blood, and insulin. This directly impacts public health outcomes, a core component of SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).
2. Technological Solution: Norah Magero, an engineer, designed the Vacci Box. This portable, solar-powered refrigerator provides a sustainable and reliable solution, leveraging clean energy (SDG 7) to solve a critical healthcare challenge. Its design allows for transport by various means, including motorcycles and donkeys, ensuring last-mile delivery.
3. Entrepreneurial Development: Through UNIDO, Ms. Magero received training to scale her invention into a successful enterprise, Drop Access. This support is crucial for fostering decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) through local entrepreneurship.
4. Market Expansion: Drop Access now operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire, demonstrating a scalable model for sustainable development with plans for further expansion.

3.0 Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Drop Access initiative provides a powerful illustration of how targeted innovation can advance multiple SDGs simultaneously.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: By ensuring the safe storage and transport of vaccines and other medical supplies, the Vacci Box directly improves healthcare access and quality in remote communities.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The initiative is a cornerstone for this goal.
  • Norah Magero’s success as a female CEO in the tech industry challenges traditional gender roles and discrimination.
  • Drop Access actively promotes gender equality in its corporate structure, maintaining a near 50-50 gender balance in leadership and technical roles.
  • UNIDO’s targeted support for women entrepreneurs underscores a systemic commitment to empowering women in industry.
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy: The Vacci Box’s reliance on solar power provides a clean energy solution to an infrastructure problem, reducing dependence on unreliable or non-existent electrical grids.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The project represents a significant innovation that builds resilient infrastructure for healthcare systems. It is a model for inclusive and sustainable industrialization driven by local needs.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The initiative reduces health inequalities by serving remote populations and reduces gender inequalities by promoting women’s leadership in STEM and business.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The collaboration between Drop Access (a private enterprise) and UNIDO (a UN agency) exemplifies the multi-stakeholder partnerships necessary to achieve the SDGs.

4.0 Broader Context: UNIDO’s Commitment to Inclusive Industrialization

The UNIDO Global Industry Summit has emphasized that the future of industry must be inclusive, directly addressing the under-representation of women in high-tech, digital, and green sectors. This aligns with the global agenda for SDG 5.

• Addressing Systemic Barriers: UNIDO acknowledges that leadership and pay gaps persist, costing innovation and inclusive growth. The organization is actively investing in programs that provide women with access to finance, technology, and STEM skills.
• Policy and Resolution: A significant development was the adoption of the Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in Industrial Development Resolution by UNIDO Member States. This resolution aims to embed gender equality across all UNIDO operations, ensuring a structured approach to achieving SDG 5 within its mandate.

5.0 Conclusion

The work of Norah Magero and Drop Access serves as a compelling model for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It demonstrates that empowering women entrepreneurs with the right support and resources can lead to innovative, market-based solutions that address fundamental challenges in health, energy, and infrastructure. This case reinforces the principle that gender equality (SDG 5) is not only a fundamental right but also a critical enabler for accelerating progress across the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article highlights issues and solutions that are directly connected to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary SDGs addressed are:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The core problem presented is the difficulty in providing reliable healthcare, specifically vaccinations, in rural Kenya due to the lack of a stable cold chain for medical products. Norah Magero’s struggle to get her child vaccinated and her invention of the “Vacci Box” to safely store vaccines, blood, and insulin directly address the need for accessible and quality healthcare services.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality: This is a central theme of the article. It showcases Norah Magero, a woman engineer and entrepreneur, overcoming societal barriers. The article explicitly discusses the under-representation of women in high-tech and green industries, leadership and pay gaps, and UNIDO’s efforts to promote women’s empowerment, including the adoption of the “Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in Industrial Development Resolution.” Drop Access’s policy of maintaining a “50-50 share of men versus women in leadership” is a practical example of this SDG in action.
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy: The problem of unreliable vaccine storage is rooted in a lack of consistent energy access. The article states that health clinics in rural areas face “lots of blackouts” and “unreliable electricity access.” The solution, the Vacci Box, is explicitly described as a “solar-powered mobile refrigerator,” which directly promotes the use of clean and reliable energy to solve a critical infrastructure problem.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The article is a case study in innovation and industrial development. Ms. Magero, with her “engineering background,” invented an innovative solution (the Vacci Box) to an infrastructure problem (unreliable cold chain). Her company, Drop Access, represents the growth of a new industrial enterprise. The involvement of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in providing training and support further underscores the connection to building resilient infrastructure and fostering inclusive and sustainable industrialization.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s content, the following specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including… access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
   • The article directly relates to this target by focusing on the challenge of getting children vaccinated and the need to safely store and transport “heat-sensitive medical products like vaccines, blood for transfusion and insulin.” The Vacci Box is a technology designed to ensure access to effective vaccines.
2. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
   • This target is addressed through the story of Norah Magero as a CEO and innovator. The article highlights UNIDO’s focus on women innovators and entrepreneurs and quotes Cecilia Estrada on how women “remain under-represented in the sectors shaping our future.” Ms. Magero’s company, Drop Access, actively implements this target by ensuring “women have equal employment opportunities and leadership opportunities,” achieving a “50-50 share of men versus women in leadership.”
3. Target 7.1: By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.
   • The article identifies “unreliable electricity access” as the primary barrier for rural health clinics. The Vacci Box, being a “solar-powered” solution, directly contributes to providing a reliable energy service for a critical function (medical refrigeration), thereby helping to close the energy access gap for healthcare infrastructure.
4. Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries… encouraging innovation.
   • Norah Magero’s invention of the Vacci Box is a clear example of local innovation designed to solve a specific technological and developmental challenge. UNIDO’s support for her as an entrepreneur further aligns with the goal of upgrading technological capabilities and fostering innovation within developing countries like Kenya.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not mention official SDG indicator codes, but it implies several qualitative and quantitative indicators that can be used to measure progress:

• For SDG 3 (Health): An implied indicator is the number of rural health clinics equipped with reliable cold-chain storage solutions. The expansion of Drop Access to “Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire” suggests a growing number of locations where vaccine viability is being secured, which is a measure of progress.
• For SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The article provides a direct indicator: the proportion of women in managerial positions. Drop Access serves as a model with its “almost a 50-50 share of men versus women in leadership.” Another implied indicator is the number of women-led enterprises receiving institutional support, as exemplified by UNIDO’s training and awards for entrepreneurs like Ms. Magero.
• For SDG 7 (Clean Energy): A relevant implied indicator is the number of essential service facilities (like health clinics) powered by renewable energy solutions. Each Vacci Box deployed represents one instance of a solar-powered solution ensuring a critical service, contributing to this measure.
• For SDG 9 (Innovation): An implied indicator is the number of local, scalable technological innovations developed and commercialized. The creation and successful marketing of the Vacci Box is a direct measure of this. The company’s expansion plans “across Africa and Southeast Asia” serve as an indicator of the innovation’s success and scalability.

Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: news.un.org