Defying Expectations with Nithya Ramanathan of Nexleaf Analytics

Nithya Ramanathan is CEO and co-founder of Nexleaf Analytics, a technology non-profit. Today, Nexleaf technology protects the vaccine supply for 1 in 10 children born on Earth. Nexleaf Analytics is known for its work in low-cost smart sensor design, data analytics, and data advocacy.

In this conversation with Nithya, we unpack the formative experiences which led Nithya to Nexleaf. She talks about the discrimination she faced in high school, and ignored. She shares the complex lessons she learned from building a "simple" well in Bangladesh. And she celebrates the strong individuals who have inspired and guided her along the way.

In the second half of our conversation, we dig into a few trickier topics. For example, what is the role, and the limits, of researchers in international development. We discuss how health data needs to be owned at the country level, even though and especially when aid workers are eager to present this data in the international spotlight. Nithya celebrates what she's learned through years navigating and supporting government decisions - even when those decisions acted against Nexleaf. And, of course, we talk about how low-cost sensor technology, often referred to as the "Internet of Things", is changing how healthcare works in the most remote parts of the world.

 

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