The people behind healthcare innovation: Interview with Sylvana Quader Sinha, Founder & Chair of the Board of Praava Health

As part of my work, I have the privilege to speak with many inspiring innovators. Although the business community usually focuses on companies, pitches, and valuations — and less on the innovator — I thought it would be interesting to learn a bit more about the people behind healthcare innovation. In this series, I’m sharing some of my conversations with innovators in a condensed format to gain insights into their experience, their opinions, and their learnings.

This latest conversation is with Sylvana Quader Sinha, Founder & Chair of the Board of Praava Health, a patient-centered, tech-integrated healthcare system in Bangladesh.

Tobias: What’s your story, how did you become an innovator in healthcare?

Sylvana: My path to healthcare innovation wasn’t linear. I started my career as a lawyer and policy advisor, working at the intersection of international law, development, and diplomacy. But it was a deeply personal experience — navigating the healthcare system in Bangladesh for a family member — that became the turning point. I was shocked by how fragmented, transactional, and mistrustful the system had become. I realized that what was missing wasn’t more doctors or more money — it was a system that treated people like human beings.

That experience led me to move to Bangladesh for the first time in my life to build Praava Health, a patient-centered, tech-integrated healthcare system in Bangladesh. Our goal was to bring together quality, reliable family doctors, diagnostics, and digital tools under one roof — not just to fix broken parts of the system, but to reimagine the whole experience around the patient. We set out to prove that world-class care is possible — and scalable — even in the most resource-constrained environments. To date, we have served nearly a million patients with high quality healthcare and are proud of our 92+ Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Tobias: Where do you see the "one-stop-shop healthcare model" moving to in the next ten years in healthcare?

Sylvana: I believe the future of the “one-stop-shop” model isn’t just about convenience — it’s about continuity, trust, and data-driven care. Over the next decade, these models will evolve into smart systems that use data to predict your health needs, tailor your care, and catch problems before they become serious.

But to really work — especially in places like Bangladesh or across the Global South — these models need to focus on high-quality care first.  It’s not enough to offer everything under one roof if the care itself isn’t reliable. Across low- and middle-income countries, the leading cause of mortality is not disease itself or even lack of access to care, but lack of access to quality healthcare.

These models must also beyond simply bundling services. The next generation will integrate diagnostics, longitudinal data, behavioral health, prevention, and financing — all wrapped in a digital layer that empowers both patient and provider.

In emerging markets, this approach could leapfrog old, broken systems and build something better from the start. Moreover, vertically integrated models — like the one we’ve built at Praava Health — enable providers to not only ensure the quality of care across the continuum but also own the economics of the bundled offerings, making the model more scalable and sustainable.

Tobias: If you could design a  digital-first health system for a country  from scratch, what would it look like?

Sylvana: It would start with trust and prevention, not hospitals and hardware. I’d design a system rooted in primary care, with digital tools that extend access, improve quality, enable early diagnosis, and build strong patient-provider relationships from the outset. Everyone would have a unique digital health ID, enabling longitudinal health records, and AI would support — not replace — clinicians in making better decisions.

Patients would be co-owners of their data and their care journeys. Preventive services like annual health checks, vaccinations, and screenings would be publicly funded, while telemedicine and home diagnostics would dramatically reduce reliance on costly in-person visits. Importantly, this system would be interoperable and inclusive — designed not just for the digitally literate or urban elite, but for the full population.

Tobias: In your opinion, what would be meaningful  near-term steps towards a digital-first health system?

Sylvana: We need to start by digitizing the foundations — not just layering apps onto broken infrastructure. That means government leadership in standardizing health information systems, e-prescriptions, and referral pathways that allow providers to coordinate care efficiently. At the same time, governments and innovators must prioritize digital health literacy — for patients and providers alike — to ensure adoption and trust.

Another crucial step is enabling public-private data partnerships with strong governance frameworks. If done right, anonymized health data can unlock powerful insights to drive policy, innovation, and targeted care delivery. But all of this only works if we ensure equitable access to connectivity, devices, and basic primary care.

Tobias: What do you know now that you  wish you had known when you were starting out as an innovator?

Sylvana: I wish I had known how lonely it can be to build something that hasn’t been done before — especially in an environment that doesn’t always reward long-term thinking or systemic change. It’s easy to underestimate how much resilience — emotional, strategic, and financial — it takes to hold your vision when the ecosystem around you isn’t ready for it yet.

But I’ve also learned that if you stay grounded in your mission and surround yourself with values-aligned people, you can weather almost anything. Innovation in healthcare isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about staying stubborn on your “why” and flexible on the “how.” 

About Sylvana Quader Sinha

Sylvana Q. Sinha is Chair of the Board at Praava Health, which she founded in 2014 and led as CEO for nearly 11 years. A Columbia Law and Harvard-trained lawyer and international development expert, she previously held senior roles at global firms and institutions including BCG, Weil Gotshal, the World Bank, and the UN.

Inspired by a family health crisis, she moved to Bangladesh to build Praava Health—a first-of-its-kind healthcare platform delivering high-quality, patient-centered care by integrating world-class diagnostics, in-person care, pharmacy, and digital tools such as telemedicine and chronic disease management. The company now serves nearly a million patients and has been recognized by the World Economic Forum, Fast Company, and the Gates Foundation. Sinha is known for building capital-efficient businesses that unlock new economic potential in underserved markets, and is a frequent contributor to Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, and the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves on PATH’s board, mentors at Harvard and Columbia, and is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.