This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.
We have now exited this investment. This is what we achieved.
Achieved impact
In 2013, we invested $33.6 million in Rainbow Healthcare, a specialist paediatric and maternity care provider. In May 2022, Rainbow successfully listed at Indian stock exchanges, despite a volatile macro environment.
Since our investment, the company has grown from primarily operating in one city with five units and 270 beds to pan-India multi-city operations across 14 units and 1,500 beds.
Rainbow treats one million mothers and children per year in a country that has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates.
During our investment, Rainbow has delivered well on the four dimensions of our Healthcare Impact Framework, developed with Imperial College (these are ‘access’, ‘quality’, ‘stewardship’ and ‘workforce’:
• Access: Rainbow treated 1.2 million patients in 2021/22. Its flagship Hyderabad units treated more than 30 per cent intensive patients from adjoining rural and semi-urban districts that had almost no secondary or tertiary care. In our impact survey conducted in 2017, Rainbow delivered the highest survival rates for extreme pre-term babies in the country, with a NICU survival rate of 97 per cent.
• Quality and Stewardship: Rainbow showed significant progress on quality and stewardship during our investment by adding five NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Provider) and three EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certified units, and addressing the need for Centres of Excellence for paediatrics quaternary care with the commissioning of Rainbow Children’s Heart and Transplant Institute in 2019.
• Workforce: Rainbow has been a net contributor to India’s medical workforce. Our 2017 impact study showed that Rainbow was training 5 per cent of India’s new paediatric consultants and 9 per cent of new neonatology consultants. As of December 2021, Rainbow had 3,800 employees – of which more than 50 per cent were women. It has a high representation of women within the workforce.
Since our investment, through the Environmental, Social and Governance Committee, we have also institutionalised the environmental and social function. Rainbow has significantly improved its approach to managing environmental and social risk in its operations. This includes resource efficiency monitoring, introducing a robust health and safety training programme, a waste management procedure, HR policies and grievance mechanisms.
Expected impact
In 2013, CDC invested $17.3 million of equity in Rainbow Hospitals. We have subsequently invested a further $15 million in the company.
Our investment supported the group’s expansion from just 300 beds to almost 1,000 beds today, including expansion into key new cities such as Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.
Since our investment, the company has consistently grown at more than 30 per cent each year. It continues to expand and aims to treat over 1 million patients every year.
We exited this investment in 2022.
India’s infant and maternal mortality rate is high and for extreme pre-term babies it is even worse. This is mostly due to a severe shortage of specialised neonatal and paediatric surgeons; only a handful of hospitals are correctly staffed and equipped to treat complicated pregnancies and babies with extreme low birth weight.
Since our investment, Rainbow has successfully treated hundreds of babies and sick children who would not have survived elsewhere. To facilitate this, it operates one of the country’s biggest patient transport operations bringing babies from rural areas up to 300km away to its flagship centres. Its hospitals achieve survival rates for extreme pre-term babies that are comparable to those achieved in the UK or US, but at a fraction of the cost.
Rainbow is also a net contributor to India’s medical workforce, training around 5 per cent of new paediatric consultants and up to 10 per cent of all neonatology consultants. It employs over 2,300 people, almost half of them women.
It is also helping to reverse the country’s brain-drain by bringing a large number of specialist doctors back to India who have been working in the UK, US and Canada.
Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
We worked closely with Rainbow to support improvements in resource efficiency and employee development.
In 2015, we began a programme to help Rainbow reduce its carbon footprint and energy costs, helping the company reduce its energy and water usage by nearly 30 per cent. As a result, in 2018, Rainbow became the first hospital in South Asia to achieve the IFC’s EDGE certification for green buildings.
Three of Rainbow's hospitals are certified with the Indian quality seal of the National Accreditation Board of Hospitals (NABH), which supports best practice in medical and patient care; two are actively pursuing it.
Rainbow has also began a new training initiative to support the retention of day nurses. This includes an upskilling programme that helps nurses, especially those from marginalised communities, to succeed in the workplace.
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2026
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D31
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Exited
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- South Asia
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- India
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Health
- Sub sector
:
The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information
- Health Care Providers & Services
- Investment policy :
- Growth
- Investment type :
- Equity
- Start date :
- February 2016
- End date :
- April 2022
- Amount :
- $14.73m
- Currency of investment :
- INR
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- India
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- Last updated
Related investments made by BII into this company:
| Investment name | Commitment | Region | Sector | Start date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment 01 | $17.26m | South Asia | Health | August 2013 | Exited |
| Investment 03 | $1.62m | South Asia | Health | March 2016 | Exited |
| Investment 04 | $14.95m | South Asia | Health | August 2016 | Exited |
