Six Startups Helping India Fight COVID-19

The Indian startup scene is buzzing with fresh solutions to fight the problems posed by COVID-19.

Any entrepreneur worth their salt knows that crisis is the best time to show off your wares. People are more open to ideas when they are living through a transformation, even when they are reluctant and are wishing they could go back to how things were.

People who generate ideas often come up with the best of them during a crisis

The pandemic is about to change life as we know it, and several pain points will crop up in various areas. Incidentally, people who generate ideas often come up with the best of them during a crisis. Even experts are predicting how transformation journeys of years will now compact into months.

Whether it’s e-diagnostics, medtech, robotics, drones, telemedicine, or AI, startups are stepping up their game in various ways to help out populations in this hour of crisis. Here are six of them:

KlinicApp

Mumbai-based startup KlinicApp has been in the news for enabling home tests for coronavirus in Mumbai in collaboration with renowned labs like Thyrocare and Metropolis. They are providing home tests through a trained and equipped team of phlebotomists who work based on a doctor’s prescription. They mostly provide results within 48 hours. The e-diagnostics startup is set to take its services country-wide.

Satkam Divya, CEO, KlinicApp, told ET in a statement, “At KlinicApp, we are committed in the fight against Covid-19 and together help the nation come out of this difficult situation. KlinicApp is focused on scaling up its capacity in all major cities, to a sufficient number of tests per day. The Phlebotomists fleet has been given extensive training for home sample collection and has been provided a one-time use safety suit (personal protective equipment) and gears for their safety.”

Practo

Healthcare startup Practo has launched a free online telemedicine solution called India Health Hour. Launched in the beginning of May, this program has provided free consultations to more than 2500 patients already with its registered free online doctor consultations. Backed by experienced doctors, the aim of this initiative is to provide free access to top doctors via online consultation.

Any entrepreneur worth their salt knows that crisis is the best time to show off your wares

“Covid-19 has led to palpable unease among people. There’s helplessness and disappointment, especially because they’re unable to reach an experienced doctor. Social distancing calls for measures to avoid crowds, which could arise at medical establishments; but that should not stop people from consulting doctors online,” Dr. Prof Padma Shree J M Hans, ENT & Cochlear Implant told Business World.

AgVa Healthcare

Another healthcare startup AgVa Healthcare are filling the expensive need for ventilators created by the critical COVID-19 cases across the country. The company has developed a low-cost ventilator that runs on room air without the need of compressed medical air and can be deployed even in rural areas of India. Dual computers ensure it always keeps working, while its energy efficient, easy to use and set up.

Recently, Maruti Suzuki India has joined hands with AgVa Healthcare to help it scale up production of its ventilators. Founded by Professor Diwakar Vaish, who also created India’s first 3D-printed humanoid robot Manav, the company is set to aid as many COVID-19 patients as it can.

QKopy

QKopy, a social contact discovery app, has joined hands with the Kerala state government to launch an app called GoK Direct app to inform people about general announcements, information and updated guidelines for travellers, details about the quarantine protocol, and also health and safety tips for visitors to the state. The app sends information in English and in Malayalam through phone notifications and SMS in order to cater to the population without smart phones.

Based in Kozhikode, the social communication startup incubated from the Kerala Startup Mission at UL CyberPark. It works as a contact-based mobile app for communication that broadcasts and propagates updates with the help of valid mobile numbers. The Kozhikode City Traffic Police have already used the application successfully during Kerala’s 2018 flood.

Aqoza Technologies

Aqoza Technologies, a startup that offers green technologies and products in air purification, odour control, and disinfection, claims that its product can disinfect most viruses including the novel Corona virus and the Nipah virus.

People are more open to ideas when they are living through a transformation, even when they are reluctant and are wishing they could go back to how things were

They have come up with a solution that naturally disinfects the air, surface, and water. The solution is claimed to be free from alcohol, aldehydes, scents and is non-staining. The product, which is a water-based sanitiser disinfectant, was developed during the outbreak of Nipah virus in Kerala in 2018.

The company provides disinfectant products to airlines, IT parks, commercial buildings. But instead of alcohol-based disinfectants, the company offers a hypochlorous acid-based solution. The Defence research and development organisation (DRDO) is also using this disinfectant for the Indian army to sanitise hospitals.

Aqoza sells its product exclusively at airports in Chennai, Kochi, Trivandrapuran, and Calicut under the brand name Voyager. But with the current situation, the company has ramped up its operations and has secured additional licenses to ensure that its products are available locally and for industrial and hospital use.

Droom

Some startups have stumbled upon anti-Corona solutions in a winded way. Droom, an online market for used cars has made a special anti-microbial coating called Germ Shield. The technology arrests the growing of microorganisms like bacteria, algae, yeast, moulds, and mildew on the vehicle surfaces. The Gurugram police are currently testing it.

With lockdown restrictions easing in some parts of the country, the startup is planning to launch contactless commerce services on its platform throughout India. The aim is to facilitate the use of its tools for in-depth vehicle research online while also providing doorstep test drive and home delivery.

“Our high-quality fully online and contactless services will allow us to capitalize on this paradigm shift while catering to consumer needs efficiently,” Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom told BS.

If it’s time to change our lifestyle in major ways, why not do so with as much help as we can get from technology and awareness

A Lesson to Learn

We can all learn from these startups to stand up in the face of this crisis while never giving up. If it’s time to change our lifestyle in major ways, why not do so with as much help as we can get from technology and awareness. At the same time, we can all pool in our talents to help in one way or another.

If you think you are making a difference through your startup to bring about ease for people during the pandemic and the lockdown, let us know. Write to [email protected].