Our Bureau
Ann Arbor, MI
The William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan (WDI) has named Rajat Chabba as Senior Director of Innovation and Partnerships, a new position for the Institute. Chabba’s experience blends well with WDI’s direction as an enterprise accelerator, systems catalyst and knowledge hub. He will focus on enterprise acceleration in emerging markets and strengthening innovation ecosystems.
“With its expertise in energy, climate and health, WDI is primed to create, support and accelerate entrepreneurial ecosystems in low- and middle-income countries,” Chabba said. “I’m excited to work across innovation, platform, and ecosystem levels in emerging markets to create new collaborations that support innovators and entrepreneurs.”
Before joining WDI, Chabba served as the Technical Director for Market Solutions at the Innovations Hub at Jhpiego, where he spearheaded private sector engagement to drive health impact across Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. He established Jhpiego’s Worldwide Innovation Support Hub, providing targeted support to over 100 social innovators.
Chabba previously served as the Global Lead for Healthcare Practice & Innovations Lab at Intellecap, a social development consulting firm focused on solving critical health challenges in underserved communities through technology, entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Despite significant potential, energy, climate and health sectors still lack a sufficient number of scalable innovations to address pressing global challenges,” Chabba said. “That’s where WDI can play a huge role in advancing innovators and enterprises to scale, but also supporting existing incubators, accelerators, investors and above all governments in strengthening the enabling environment for these innovations to thrive and sustain.”
As Chabba noted that traditional donor funding is decreasing, and the need for alternative financing models—such as impact investing, blended finance, and private-public partnerships—is growing. He said, “At WDI, we have the expertise and networks to help bridge the financing gap, create new approaches to deliver services, and support innovative solutions at scale both in depth and breadth.”
With over a decade of experience across sectors such as women’s health, infectious diseases, primary healthcare, climate health, eye care and sanitation, Chabba has collaborated with corporates, nonprofits, foundations, multilateral agencies and consulting firms to deliver developmental impact.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled for Rajat to join WDI,” said Wendy Taylor, WDI President and CEO. “His proven track record of developing new networks to bring entrepreneurs, investors and many other stakeholders together is precisely what we value as we look to expand our offerings as an enterprise accelerator and systems catalyst.”
Chabba holds an MBBS from BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad, and a Master’s in Rural Management from IRMA. He is a recipient of the Acumen Fellowship in 2015 and the League of ‘Intrapreneurship’ Fellowship in 2021.
The William Davidson Institute, is an independent nonprofit affiliated with the University of Michigan, collaborates with businesses, mission-driven organizations and governments to strengthen markets, scale innovation and create sustainable impact.
