Podcast · Tech & Science

High-Impact Growth

A podcast for social entrepreneurs, global development funders, nonprofit leaders and anyone grappling with the challenge of how to build solutions that are both immensely impactful and also achieve high-growth. Join Dimagi CEO and co-founder, Jonathan Jackson, along with co-host Amie Vaccaro as we

New episodes: Monthly
Typical length: 51 min
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 50 minNew

Justin Steele on the Legibility Trap in Philanthropy

Justin Steele gave away nearly $700 million leading Google.org’s philanthropy across the Americas, and he watched funding flow to the nonprofits closest to power rather than those closest to the problem. Now the founder of Kindora, a public benefit corporation using AI to help nonprofits find funders who’d actually say yes, he calls this the legibility trap. In conversation with Dimagi CEO Jonathan Jackson, Justin takes listeners inside a grant maker’s head: how a seven-person team ran a $150 million annual budget, why portfolios so often follow personal networks, and why honest feedback is…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S1 · E91 · 21 Sep 2026 · 56 min
AI Philanthropy Is Coming. Are You Legibly Excellent?
What happens when AI philanthropy actually arrives? Jack Lewars advises donors giving up to nine figures a year — and he argues the wave of wealth expected from AI company IPOs is more locked in than skeptics think, with potentially $130 billion or more committed to charity even in conservative scenarios. In this conversation with hosts Amie Vaccaro and Jonathan Jackson, Jack explains why concentration is the real risk ("two big funders beat one twice the size"), why the bottleneck to scaling global health organizations isn't money but managing directors and chiefs of staff, and why he has…
S1 · E90 · 17 Sep 2026 · 46 min
Disability Inclusion in Global Development, with Dr. Victor Pineda
Disability inclusion in global development starts with a question most teams never ask: who is your technology quietly leaving out? Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda, executive director of Berkeley's Center for Independent Living, president of the global inclusion nonprofit World Enabled, and one of the youngest delegates to help draft the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, joins Amie Vaccaro and guest co-host Erin Quinn for a conversation that moves from a Caracas classroom, where his mother was told her son could never be educated, to the floor of the United Nations, to the…
S1 · E89 · 21 Aug 2026 · 52 min
Grow the Pie: GiveDirectly's CEO on Absorbing the Third Wave
Five years ago, they were mid-level software engineers. Today, they hold giving accounts larger than major foundations — and the sector they want to fund may not be ready to absorb the money. Nick Allardice, CEO of GiveDirectly and former CEO of Change.org, joins Amie and Jonathan to unpack his widely discussed article "The Absorption Problem" and what the "third wave" of philanthropy means for global development. Nick explains why the biggest risk isn't money going to the wrong place, but money sitting on the sidelines for lack of credible places to put it — and why he regularly refers…
S1 · E88 · 18 Aug 2026 · 46 min
From Embracing Complexity to Solving the Right Problems
Could a funder deploy $100 million in global health tomorrow and know where every single dollar went? Dimagi CEO and co-founder Jonathan Jackson believes verified service delivery finally makes the answer yes. In this candid mid-2026 check-in, Jon joins co-host Amie Vaccaro, VP of CommCare Growth and Strategy, to unpack a year of profound change including why Dimagi retired its longtime value "embrace complexity for impact" in favor of "solving the right problems for impact," and what that shift reveals about affordability in a post-USAID funding landscape. Jon walks step-by-step through a…
S1 · E87 · 7 Aug 2026 · 56 min
Eric Ries on Why Good Companies Go Bad
What does it really mean to make a profit — and why do so many mission-driven companies eventually betray the very things that made them great? In this episode, Eric Ries, creator of The Lean Startup and founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, joins Amie Vaccaro and Jonathan Jackson to discuss his new book Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great . Eric dismantles the conventional definition of profit and offers a radical replacement — profit as the maximization of human flourishing — then explains "financial gravity," the unconscious pull that bends…
S1 · E86 · 30 Jul 2026 · 43 min
The Last Mile of Family Planning: Lessons from Lafiya in Nigeria
In a single program area in northern Nigeria, contraceptive use climbed from 2% to over 70%. This change wasn't caused by a new technology, but happened because of one new strategy: centering trust. In this episode, Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro sit down with Klau Pakos, CEO and co-founder of Lafiya, to unpack how their organization closes the "last mile" gap in family planning in some of the hardest-to-reach communities in Northern Nigeria. Women in these communities often already know about contraception, but too often travel hours to a clinic only to be turned away empty-handed.…
S1 · E85 · 23 Jul 2026 · 50 min
Why Development Needs More Innovation, Not Less with DIV Fund
When USAID was dissolved, Sasha Gallant didn't let the work she'd spent years building disappear with it. As the former head of Development Innovation Ventures (DIV), USAID's evidence-driven innovation fund, Gallant watched stop-work orders freeze over 100 active awards overnight. Rather than let that portfolio die, she did two things: Helped mobilize more than $130 million to keep the most critical, life-saving USAID projects alive through an initiative called Project Resource Optimization , and Co-founded DIV as an independent nonprofit–the DIV Fund –to test and scale new, potentially…
S1 · E84 · 26 Jun 2026 · 49 min
Who Actually Owns This? Naming What's Broken with Nithya Ramanathan
What does it actually take for a country, government, or community to truly own a technology or an outcome? In this fast-paced and candid episode of High-Impact Growth, Dimagi CEO Jonathan Jackson and co-host Amie Vaccaro welcome back Nithya Ramanathan, CEO and co-founder of Nexleaf Analytics. Moving past polite sector rhetoric, Nithya and Jonathan break down why so many well-intentioned global health initiatives end up in "equipment graveyards" due to a broken "donor-to-hope" value chain. Grounded in her recent Stanford Social Innovation Review piece on country ownership, Nithya unpacks the…
S1 · E83 · 15 May 2026 · 49 min
40,000 Health Workers, One AI-Powered Lifeline
What happens when a health extension worker in rural Ethiopia faces a complex case and there's no doctor nearby? This episode goes beyond the AI hype cycle to explore a live, working answer: HEP Assist, a generative AI-powered call center built for Ethiopia's 40,000 health extension workers by Last Mile Health, IDinsight, and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health. Abraham Zerihun, Ethiopia Country Director at Last Mile Health, and Sid Ravinutala, Chief Data Scientist at IDinsight, take us inside the real decisions — from choosing a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architecture to stay within…
S1 · E82 · 15 Apr 2026 · 51 min
Closing the Gap: Scaling Mental Health Care Through Local Heroes with Pavel Reppo
Imagine a country of 50 million people with only 50 psychiatrists . This staggering treatment gap is the reality in Uganda, but Pavel Reppo is proving that specialized experts aren’t the only ones who can provide life-changing care. As the Executive Director of Finemind and CEO of Matchbox Fund , Pavel brings a rare dual perspective to the conversation, bridging the worlds of grassroots mental health implementation and trust-based philanthropy. In this episode, we dive into how Finemind upskills primary health workers—such as midwives and nurses—to deliver evidence-based mental health…
S1 · E81 · 20 Feb 2026 · 46 min
Thinking About Individual Giving? Start Here
As traditional funding sources shift, many nonprofits are asking a hard question: can individual giving become a meaningful and sustainable revenue stream? In this episode of High-Impact Growth , Amie Vaccaro and Jonathan Jackson sit down with Javan Van Gronigen, founder of Donate.ly, to unpack what it truly takes to make that transition work. Drawing from more than a decade in digital fundraising, Javan shares why storytelling—not technology—is the most critical asset nonprofits have, and why so many organizations struggle by committing “random acts of marketing.” The conversation explores…
S1 · E80 · 22 Jan 2026 · 50 min
Beyond “AI for Good”: Building Responsible AI
AI is moving fast in global health and development, but good intentions alone don’t guarantee good outcomes. In this episode of High-Impact Growth , we sit down with Genevieve Smith, Founding Director of the Responsible AI Initiative at UC Berkeley’s AI Research Lab, to unpack what it really means to build and deploy AI responsibly in contexts that matter most. Drawing on a decade of experience in international development and cutting-edge research on AI bias, Genevieve explains why labeling a project “AI for good” isn’t enough. She introduces five critical lenses – fairness, privacy,…
S1 · E79 · 18 Dec 2025 · 42 min
[Pods Fight Poverty Re-Air] How GiveDirectly is Changing Aid
Today’s episode is a re-air in support of Pods Fight Poverty, a campaign from our friends at GiveDirectly. You can learn more and donate at: GiveDirectly.org/Dimagi Update: You can learn about the impact of this campaign here . —- In this episode, we’re joined by Stella Luk, Regional Director at GiveDirectly, and Erin Quinn, Dimagi’s Senior Director of Customer Success , to explore a fundamental question: What if, instead of aid programs deciding what communities need, we simply gave people cash and trusted them to make the best choices for themselves? GiveDirectly has pioneered direct,…
S1 · E78 · 10 Dec 2025 · 52 min
What Makes a Dollar Matter? Lessons from Coefficient Giving
What if you could identify exactly where your philanthropic dollar would save the most lives or improve the most years of healthy living? In this episode, Deena Mousa, lead researcher at Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy), walks us through the rigorous frameworks that guide one of the world's most analytically driven funders. From evaluating causes using importance, neglectedness, and tractability, to calculating social return on investment, Deena explains how Coefficient Giving approaches everything from malaria prevention to AI's potential in low-resource settings. The…
S1 · E77 · 13 Nov 2025 · 54 min
The Thinking You Can't Skip: AI for Good at a Crossroads
In part four of our AI for Good series, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro reconnect with Brian DeRenzi, Dimagi's VP of AI and Research, to explore how AI is evolving—and what it still can't do. Since our last conversation, technology has made staggering leaps, but the global health sector has also been rocked by funding cuts, creating massive tension between potential and reality. Brian shares why AI accelerates human intention but can never replace critical thinking. And we dig into Dimagi's research on hidden bias in frontier models and AI’s performance in low resource languages. We…
S1 · E76 · 27 Oct 2025 · 50 min
Funders: The Power to Change the System
What comes next in a world where old funding models are breaking down? Our guest, Dr. Kevin Starr, CEO of the Mulago Foundation, argues this shift isn't a crisis but a "much needed reality bath". After a personal tragedy sent him stumbling from medicine into philanthropy, Kevin built one of the most respected impact-focused foundations. In this conversation, we explore Mulago's unique model of providing unrestricted, continued funding to "irrepressible" entrepreneurs through their Rainer Arnhold Fellows Program. Kevin shares his sharp critique of "zombie organizations" and why he believes…
S1 · E75 · 9 Oct 2025 · 49 min
A Radical Bet on Simplicity and Affordability
In early 2025, massive funding cuts from USAID sent shockwaves through the global development sector, leaving many to wonder what would come next. The money was gone, but the problems remained. In this follow-up conversation, Dimagi Managing Directors Gillian Javetski and Ismaïla Diene rejoin the podcast to discuss the aftermath and the unexpected "diamonds" created from the pressure. They share how the crisis forced a pivot from large, custom-built projects to a new model centered on radical simplicity, focus, and affordability. This candid discussion explores the divergence happening among…
S1 · E74 · 22 Sep 2025 · 55 min
Leading Through Chaos: Jayson Morris on Grief, Healing, and Emergent Leadership
What happens when the leadership skills that once fueled success no longer serve in today’s climate of uncertainty? In this episode of High Impact Growth , leadership coach Jayson Morris returns for a candid conversation with Dimagi CEO Jonathan Jackson and host Amie Vaccaro . Together, they explore how leaders can navigate grief, anger, and fear while still showing up with authenticity and resilience. Jayson unpacks the idea of the “leader as healer,” the power of embracing emergence over rigid strategic plans, and why slowing down can actually help teams move faster. You’ll also hear…
S1 · E73 · 27 Aug 2025 · 58 min
Disrupted, Not Defeated: The Next Chapter in Global Development
Raj Kumar, President and Editor-in-Chief of Devex , returns to High Impact Growth for a candid and insightful conversation about the future of global development. In a world reeling from sudden aid cuts and structural overhauls, Raj joins co-hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro to unpack what this era of uncertainty means for NGOs, governments, and social enterprises alike. They explore:- The fallout from peak Official Development Assistance (ODA) and what it means for program funding- Why value-for-money is now a survival imperative, not a nice-to-have- How social enterprises can adapt…
S1 · E72 · 18 Jul 2025 · 51 min
The Somatic Edge: Leading with Capacity in a Stress-Filled World with Franzi Gonder
In this insightful episode, hosts Amie Vaccaro and Jonathan Jackson welcome Franzi Gonder, a renowned somatic leadership coach and entrepreneur. Franzi shares her personal journey into somatic work, emphasizing how understanding our bodies can profoundly shape our leadership. The conversation delves into the pervasive "beginner's mindset" in high-performance environments and its impact on growth, as well as strategies for building resilience and expanding our capacity to handle stress. Franzi introduces the "Still Point" exercise as a practical tool for grounding during challenging times and…
S1 · E71 · 13 Jun 2025 · 51 min
"The System's Burned Down. This Is Our Moment." With Nithya Ramanathan
The old paradigms of global health are shifting. Nithya Ramanathan, Co-founder & CEO of Nexleaf Analytics, joins us to discuss navigating this new reality and rebuilding for impactful futures. As Nithya powerfully states, "the system has been burned down. this is our moment" – presenting a unique opportunity to redefine how we create impact. We explore Nexleaf's strategic pivots, from for-profit to non-profit, their decision to cannibalize their device business for greater ecosystem impact, and the critical move towards owning outcomes. This episode is a deep dive for social entrepreneurs…
S1 · E70 · 15 May 2025 · 51 min
Flipping the Script on Aid: Five Talents' Journey to Participatory Impact
In this episode, we’re joined by Rachel Lindley, Hannah Wichmann, and Samantha Muli from Five Talents to explore a bold shift in how development is done: What if communities—not donors—defined success, owned their data, and led the path forward? Five Talents supports women entrepreneurs across Eastern Africa through savings groups, but their approach goes far beyond finance. It’s a story of transformation—from traditional microcredit to a savings-led model rooted in literacy, dignity, and community ownership. Along the way, they’ve reimagined monitoring and evaluation—not as a donor…
S1 · E69 · 23 Apr 2025 · 41 min
Cash, Choice and Dignity: How GiveDirectly is Changing Aid
In this episode, we’re joined by Stella Luk, Regional Director at GiveDirectly, and Erin Quinn, Dimagi’s Senior Director of Customer Success, to explore a fundamental question: What if, instead of aid programs deciding what communities need, we simply gave people cash and trusted them to make the best choices for themselves? GiveDirectly has pioneered direct, unconditional cash transfers to people living in extreme poverty, challenging long-held assumptions about traditional aid. Stella shares powerful insights from the field—how cash empowers recipients with dignity, choice, and long-term…
S1 · E68 · 20 Mar 2025 · 35 min
The People and Planet Parts of Running a “Sustainable” Company
In this episode, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by two leaders on Dimagi’s People Operations team – Emily Gutman and Molly Broderick – to delve into what it takes to run Dimagi in a way that’s sustainable for its employees and the planet.. From reimagining performance management systems to demystifying the complexities of climate neutrality, they offer an unfiltered look at the challenges of navigating sustainability in the corporate world. Topics include: The role of frameworks in supporting sustainability Becoming a certified Benefit Corporation How and why Dimagi…
S1 · E67 · 7 Mar 2025 · 34 min
The Future of Aid: Adapting to a Changing Funding Landscape
The landscape of international aid is shifting rapidly, leaving organizations and communities facing unprecedented challenges. In this episode, hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro are joined by Gillian Javetski, Managing Director of Dimagi’s Software-as-a-Service division, and Ismaïla Diene, Managing Director of Dimagi's Solutions division, to unpack the impact of massive funding cuts on global health and development efforts. What does it mean when critical aid funding disappears overnight? How are frontline organizations adapting to continue their life-saving work? And how is Dimagi…
S1 · E66 · 19 Dec 2024 · 52 min
Building SaaS Products for Global Health: Lessons from CommCare & SureAdhere
In this episode, Dimagi product leaders Danny Roberts, Kai Cowger, and Matthew Hayto delve into the challenges and opportunities of building SaaS products for global health. This insightful conversation explores transitioning from donor-driven funding to a product-driven model, focusing on user needs, product sustainability, and scaling for impact. The episode highlights the complexity of aligning revenue and impact in resource-constrained settings, the importance of product marketing, and the lessons learned from scaling solutions like CommCare and SureAdhere. Tune in to discover practical…
S1 · E65 · 27 Nov 2024 · 1 hr
From Extractive Data Collection to Inclusive Data Sharing: Nora Lindström on the Evolution of ICT4D
In this episode, Nora Lindström, Senior Director of ICT4D at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and Erin Quinn, Senior Director of Customer Success at Dimagi join the podcast to discuss the evolving role of the iNGO in the context of localization and advancing local leadership, the intersection of technology and localization in global development, and the ways that technologists in global development can center the people we serve in our work. In the conversation, we learn Nora’s journey and insights into the transformative power of technology in global development. From empowering local…
S1 · E64 · 17 Oct 2024 · 54 min
The Strategic Role of Data Management in Cure Violence Global’s Work
In this episode of High-Impact Growth , hosts Jonathan Jackson and Amie Vaccaro talk with Dr. Charles Elliott, Director of Data Management at Cure Violence Global (CVG), an organization using a public health approach to prevent violence. Dr. Elliott shares insights into how CVG views violence like an epidemic, applying data-driven methods to map and reduce violence in communities around the world. Dr. Elliott articulates the value of a thoughtful data strategy using a tool like CommCare to measure and track critical indicators such as violence interruption, behavior change, and norm change.…
S1 · E63 · 13 Sep 2024 · 1 hr 2 min
Improving Health Worker Jobs to Improve Outcomes with CommCare Connect
In this episode of High Impact Growth hosts Amie Vaccaro and Jonathan Jackson, dive into one of Dimagi’s most ambitious and potentially transformative projects to date, CommCare Connect. This platform is designed to improve the jobs of community health workers (CHWs) by equipping them with digital tools to learn new skills, deliver health services, verify their work, and, crucially, get paid for additional work. By doing so, CommCare Connect seeks to address some of the biggest challenges in the global health space, such as the underpayment and disempowerment of CHWs and funding wasted on…

About High-Impact Growth

High-Impact Growth is a English tech & science podcast from Dimagi. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Dimagi
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Monthly
Typical length: 51 min
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1628339050
Rights: Dimagi

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