To find ‘moonshot’ ideas in assistive tech, Prosus launches SICA 2021

In seek for India’s most progressive assistive expertise start-ups, Prosus the worldwide client web group of Naspers on Monday launched the second version of its Social Influence Problem for Accessibility in partnership with Make investments India, Social Alpha and the World Well being Organisation.

The initiative invitations Indian start-ups with probably the most promising options within the assistive expertise area to compete for an annual grant and entry to the Prosus SICA mentorship programme.

Prosus has dedicated ₹16,500,000 to the initiative over three years, and every year awards grants to a few profitable start-ups. Companions together with Make investments India and Social Alpha present extra mentoring and financing alternatives, whereas WHO helps the programme with technical help.

The highest winner of the problem can be supplied with a grant of ₹25 lakh, adopted by an ₹18 lakh grant to the second prize winner and the third prize will embrace a grant of ₹12 lakh.

Along with the grant award, eligible start-ups obtain a chance to work with Social Alpha, an incubator that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship throughout India. As an incubation associate, Social Alpha may present as much as $40,000 in fairness to the highest startups.

Sehraj Singh, India Managing Director, Prosus, mentioned,” Right here in India, the wants of 70 million individuals dwelling with some type of incapacity have remained under-served regardless of a vibrant startup ecosystem. We consider that there could be a thriving marketplace for assistive applied sciences and final 12 months’s wonderful response to our inaugural Prosus SICA initiative validated this perception.”

Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Make investments India, mentioned: “The excellence of Indian ingenuity has been on the forefront. The power of our entrepreneurs to pivot and develop impactful frugal options is India’s energy. This problem will prepared the ground in reworking assistive applied sciences within the nation and propel India to change into a world chief within the discipline.”

Manoj Kumar, Founder and CEO, Social Alpha, mentioned, “Assistive applied sciences is a 25 billion greenback market globally however affordability and person expertise points hinder the market growth in India, regardless of having a big inhabitants that wants entry to high-quality assistive options. I’m optimistic that Prosus SICA 2021 will unlock extra alternatives and assets for innovators and assist them go to market as they create world-class options.”

Bringing assistive tech beneath Digital India

“Once we began this initiative final 12 months, we believed within the thesis that Digital India had positively benefited so many alternative sectors in expertise, and the web. However we felt that assistive expertise had not come into the umbrella beneath Digital India. And we thought, “let’s try to do one thing that may assist the sector additionally come beneath that umbrella.” There must be robust enterprise instances that decision for motion,” Singh instructed BusinessLine.

Over the previous 12 months, the assistive expertise sector has witnessed a major quantity of curiosity from early-stage and angel traders on this sector. The Prosus initiative has additionally gained traction from authorities entities such because the State of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana.

With its SICA initiative, Prosus is aiming to assist such startups scale up additional.

For example, in keeping with Sehraj, companions reminiscent of WHO may help Indian startups within the sector after they’ve achieved scale to enter the worldwide markets with its international market understanding, evaluation and attain.

“That’s the place we actually hope to take the Made in India, to the world story,” mentioned Singh.

Chapal Khasnabis, Head (a.i) Entry to Assistive Know-how and Medical Units, WHO, Geneva mentioned, “Prosus SICA is a novel programme that brings collectively business experience, financing and executional capabilities. We’re proud to assist the programme to rework India’s healthcare panorama aided by Made-In-India assistive expertise for her personal inhabitants and past.”

Moonshot concepts

The Prosus SICA problem this 12 months will scale it up, as organisers search for sure “moonshot” concepts within the assistive tech area.

Other than expertise, affordability, and scalability, “What we’re specializing in is enabling the judges to additionally have a look at some moonshot concepts. Some concepts that will initially not appear sort of pure, however one thing that could possibly be very transformative within the close to future,” mentioned Singh.

“Collectively as a jury panel, as an organization, we wish to search for one or two of these firms after which mentor them,” added Singh.

Because the second version progresses, winners from final 12 months’s SICA problem will even be enjoying a major position.

“From final 12 months, this 12 months, the position that the three winners will play in creating the groundswell and supporting the startups being part of the jury, and being part of the mentorship program goes to be fairly pivotal,” Singh mentioned.

In its inaugural version in 2020, Prosus SICA had obtained over 200 functions from 25 states and 7 union territories throughout India. The highest three winners have been Sohum Innovation Lab (Bengaluru), NeoMotion (Chennai) and Stamuri (New Delhi).

Sohum Innovation Lab manufactures a tool to detect listening to impairment in infants. It used the grant cash of ₹25 lakhs ($35,000) to increase past India to African markets. It has partnered with state governments, non-public hospitals and NGOs, and has now bought over 200 units throughout India, Tanzania, Uganda, and Guatemala.

NeoMotion creates bespoke wheelchairs with a motor-powered clip-on to transform it right into a protected, roadworthy automobile. It used the ₹18 lakhs ($25,000) grant cash for advertising and marketing to reinforce consciousness and attain, growing gross sales by 3X. The corporate’s options has attracted curiosity from the likes of Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra.

Stamurai, a cell app to handle speech disabilities via automated speech remedy, utilised its ₹12 lakhs ($15,000) grant cash to make app enhancements which have pushed up month-to-month installs by 2X and income by 60 per cent.

The highest 5 finalists of this 12 months’s problem can be inducted into the Prosus SICA mentorship programme.

This 12 months’s mentorship program for the profitable startups can be a “360-degree holistic program that helps them on the grass stage helps them on the proto market stage on the advertising and marketing on the fundraising, in addition to the engineering product and technician stage,” mentioned Singh.

Purposes

For Prosus SICA 2021, an professional panel of judges can be evaluating the startups. Eligible startups can submit their functions from now till October 19. The highest startups can be introduced in December to mark the Worldwide Day of Individuals with Disabilities.