India's impressive GDP growth rate has solidified its position as the
world's fastest-growing large economy. The journey toward developed nation
status is propelled by rapid technological advancements, enhanced
infrastructure, and a robust startup ecosystem, setting the stage for
transformative economic progress.
The “Crafting Bharat – Season 2”, powered by AWS Startups, an
initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, and production partner –
HT Smartcast, explores how startups are harnessing the power of the cloud to
accelerate growth, optimise operations, and build solutions that will define
the India of Tomorrow. This series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan,
famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently
consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic
Times.
In this episode, we spotlight Elwinder Singh, Co-Founder of
Connect & Heal, who is bringing back the concept of family doctors
and revolutionizing the healthcare system. He talks about how their HealthTech
platform is transforming the healthcare system, solving the issue of elder
healthcare, and how AWS is helping them create new solutions leveraging
technology.
In this series, explore inspiring startup stories that are shifting
gears and sparking innovation across sectors, all contributing to India’s
transformation into a developed nation by 2047 in this captivating series.
Watch Episode: https://youtu.be/ZRVH3y0TQZI
Edited Excerpts:
Segment 1: Ignite
What was the trigger point for you to start Connect & Heal? And how
did the journey pivot to connecting all the dots in healthcare?
Our decision to launch Connect & Heal was triggered by caring for my
father in 2014 in Malaysia sparked the formation of Connect & Heal.
Experiencing poor, uncoordinated care firsthand—and noticing Sanjay’s similar
struggles in India—we realized a widespread need. I moved to Mumbai, and with
Sanjay and Galveen – my fellow co-founders - we launched our journey to improve
coordinated healthcare outcomes.
How are you tackling the affordability issue? Take us through your
monetisation strategies?
Healthcare’s complexity and high customer acquisition costs led us to
avoid a D2C model. Instead, we targeted paying cohorts—mainly insurance and
enterprises—focusing on occupational health and on-site clinics. This approach
expanded to cover employee families outside work, prompting us to build a
comprehensive network of hospitals, diagnostics, and vaccination providers.
Recognizing emergency response gaps, we acquired an Uber-like ambulance
service, making us one of India’s largest providers in that segment. Today, we
are able to offer an integrated solution across our online to offline platform
to cater to all family health needs, be it across primary, preventive, and
emergency care needs.
Segment 2: Launch
Take us through the unique ways in which technology has helped you to
manage scale for your online-to-offline model that covers both primary and
preventative care for millions of customers under one roof?
Our technology strategy centers on three pillars—patients, providers,
and payers. For patients, we utilize geotracking, streamlined appointment
systems, and AI-powered predictive analytics on longitudinal health data to
personalize care and improve outcomes. For providers, our technology simplifies
onboarding and transforms unstructured reports into actionable insights. For
payers, we enhance financial and clinical adjudication, preventing fraud and
optimizing claims processing. This integrated approach allows us to seamlessly
scale our online-to-offline model, delivering both primary and preventative
care efficiently for millions.
Sub-segment: Boost
What are the product roadmap possibilities that open up when you collaborate
with AWS?
By partnering with AWS, we're excited to leverage its data analytics
tools to unlock insights from our extensive longitudinal health data. This
collaboration enables us to hyper-personalize care, tailoring OPD and health
plans based on individual risk assessments. Additionally, AWS-driven models
help us analyze unstructured data to mitigate fraud, waste, and abuse, and to
curate niche health products such as supplementation and vitality solutions.
We're poised to innovate and introduce new solutions that address diverse
healthcare needs.
Segment 3: Orbit
There is a rising demand for personalised and professional eldercare
services. How is Connect & Heal specifically catering to the needs of this
segment?
India is transitioning to an aging society, with 35% of the population
projected to be over 50 by 2047. Connect & Heal addresses this by offering
both remote and in-person care. We support migrant families by ensuring that
elders back home receive quality care while providing the essential personal touch
to them. Additionally, our system relays timely updates to next-of-kin,
offering peace of mind and continuous monitoring of health incidents.
What are the gaps in the healthcare ecosystem that need to be addressed
as India strives to become a developed country by 2047? Any suggestions that
you could offer on improving the funding environment?
I would like to mention a few challenges India faces in healthcare while
aiming to become a developed economy: the urban-rural divide, shortage of
doctors and nurses, uneven distribution of primary care infrastructure, and
lack of interoperability in health data. While the government has made a great
move by becoming a payer through the Ayushman Bharat framework, the next step
should be to act as a capital enabler. There are countless entrepreneurs eager
to solve these problems—they just need the right support and push to get
started.
As Bharat marches toward 2047, the realization of the Viksit Bharat
vision will be powered by the shared ambition of a nation that is constantly
evolving, boldly innovating, and confidently reshaping its place in the global
landscape.
Stay tuned to Crafting Bharat – Season 2 as we bring you these inspiring
entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.
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