A camp./PHOTO ; Courtesy
A new humanitarian impact investing fund backed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is aiming to tackle a persistent challenge in aid delivery: why technologies that work elsewhere struggle to gain traction in crisis-affected settings.
Launched on January 20th, 2026, Airbel Ventures is designed to accelerate the entry and scaling of high-impact technologies within humanitarian systems.
The fund will invest in companies developing solutions in areas such as frontline health delivery, climate resilience, and crisis-response infrastructure, pairing catalytic capital with access to real-world testing environments.
While the IRC is best known for direct humanitarian response, Airbel Ventures reflects a more pragmatic turn using investment tools to address structural bottlenecks that slow innovation in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Its Pilot Fund represents the first step toward a planned $50 million pool of risk-tolerant capital intended to help technologies move from adjacent markets into humanitarian operations.
“As world leaders gather to face humanity’s challenges this week in Davos, our message is clear: innovation cannot be a luxury in today’s humanitarian landscape, it is a necessity,” said David Miliband, President and CEO of the IRC.
“Airbel Ventures is designed to bring new actors, new capabilities, and new technologies to address humanitarian challenges with the urgency this moment demands.”
Bridging a gap in the system
Many startups already operate successfully in low-income or remote markets, but humanitarian settings present additional obstacles.
These include complex procurement processes, limited opportunities for live testing during crises, and uncertainty over who absorbs early-stage risk.
As a result, even proven technologies often fail to reach the communities that could benefit most.
Airbel Ventures seeks to bridge this gap by combining financing with humanitarian expertise and access to field programmes in more than 40 countries where the IRC works.
For companies, this provides both a testing ground and an evidence base—two elements often missing when aid agencies consider adopting new tools.
According to Dr. Jeannie Annan, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at the IRC and head of the Airbel Impact Lab, the emphasis is on adaptation rather than invention.
“We know breakthrough solutions already exist; what’s missing is the path to scale in humanitarian contexts,” Annan said. “
Airbel Ventures gives entrepreneurs the support and the real-world testing environment they need to adapt their products for fragile settings, building evidence and momentum toward sustainable growth.”
First investment focuses on digital health infrastructure
The fund’s first impact investment highlights the type of challenge Airbel Ventures is designed to address.
Airbel Ventures has invested in Signalytic, a company that delivers solar-powered computing devices providing reliable electricity and internet connectivity to remote health facilities.
Across much of rural Africa, an estimated 60–90 percent of clinics lack stable power or internet access, limiting their ability to use digital tools that can improve patient care, manage medical supplies, and strengthen coordination across health systems.
Signalytic’s low-cost devices are designed to ensure continuous digital uptime, enabling clinics to run electronic medical records, monitor supply chains to reduce stock-outs, and support frontline health workers with modern digital services.
Following the investment, the technology will be piloted through IRC-supported health programmes in Nigeria.
The pilot will test whether such infrastructure can be sustainably deployed in humanitarian contexts and whether it delivers measurable improvements in service delivery—evidence that could inform wider adoption across the sector.
Innovation under pressure
The launch of Airbel Ventures comes at a time of growing strain across the humanitarian system.
Crises linked to conflict, climate shocks, disease outbreaks and displacement continue to expand, while funding has stagnated or declined in many regions.
In response, the IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab has increased its focus on technology and AI-driven initiatives aimed at improving efficiency and reach.
Over the past year, more than 20 innovation projects have advanced, including tools for anticipatory action based on climate and vulnerability data, digitally supported frontline services, and early-stage diagnostic technologies.
In health, AI-powered smartphone diagnostics are being evaluated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi to help distinguish mpox from other skin conditions using datasets built for low-resource settings.
The longer-term ambition is to expand these tools to cover a wider range of high-burden neglected tropical diseases, including tuberculosis and malaria.
A cautious shift toward impact investing
Unlike traditional innovation grants, Airbel Ventures is structured as an evergreen fund, with any returns reinvested to support future investments.
The model reflects a growing interest within the humanitarian sector in blended approaches that combine philanthropic intent with investment discipline.
“From health to education to crisis response, these technologies can radically expand who we can serve and how effectively we can serve them,” Miliband added.
Whether Airbel Ventures succeeds will depend on the sector’s willingness to absorb new financing models and ways of working.
Still, its launch reflects a growing recognition that improving humanitarian outcomes may require changing not just what tools are used but how they reach the field.
