NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Design Innovations for Infants and Mothers Everywhere Inc., or DIIME, was founded in 2010 by a group of eight students in the University of Michigan’s Global Health Design program. The high rate of maternal mortality in the developing world was the health issue that grabbed the attention of the founders of DIIME. Every year between 300,000 and 500,000 women die due to complications related to childbirth and pregnancy, while four million infants die every year before reaching four weeks of age.

Blood transfusion device in operation.

DIIME founders resolved to create a company that would develop low-cost medical devices to improve maternal and infant health in Ghana and other parts of the developing world. At the same time, the company would have to earn sufficient profit to be sustainable and be able to raise capital from socially oriented investors. DIIME would be a “social enterprise,” in other words, a business dedicated to generating both financial and social returns.