The Covid-19 pandemic in India has given a new lease of life to budding startups to maximize the potential of a global shift from an on-site and in-person reality to a digital one. At times like these, a major challenge has been to reach the most distant regions of a country that is still in its early years of technological advancement, especially at the local level.
While major cities are well-rounded and knowledgeable enough to get to grips with the online space, the pandemic has made it difficult for those in remote and rural areas.
“The pandemic was a watershed moment for the global economy. Due to the shutdowns, the digital divide has further widened to highlight the lack of connectivity, mobility and insufficient awareness in rural areas,” says Jani Pasha, CEO and co-founder of Lokal, a hyperlocal social platform which aims to reach the non-English speaking population of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
As India’s first “super app” for cities, Lokal strives to empower local businesses and entrepreneurs by helping them reach the right target audience and helping the vernacular populace get their regional updates on jobs, matrimonial, real estate and classified ads.
Ultimately, Lokal aims to become a “one-stop multi-function application” for cities and towns that enables its users to harness the true potential of the Internet beyond mere entertainment.
Speaking about the barriers to extending content to less sophisticated audiences, Pasha, who was on the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2020 list, said it was important to close the connectivity gap and opportunities between India and ‘Bharat’ so that non-metropolitan cities could also reap the benefits of digitalization.
“For a very long time, WhatsApp has been the equivalent of the Internet for most of these users. The biggest hurdle has been diverting consumer use from entertainment and networking purposes to exploring meaningful users were inherently inclined to consume content for leisure,” he said.
It all starts at the foundation
The digital divide in India starts at the fundamental level and one pandemic has been enough to bring it to light. With schools closed, the education sector faced an immediate need to transform and nurture a symbiotic relationship with technology.
“Edtech for India will be a real game-changer,” says Gaurav Goel, founder of Samagra, a mission-driven governance consultancy that works with central and state governments in all spheres to create impact in the country.
Even before the world knew about the coronavirus, Samagra began bridging the digital divide by working with bureaucratic state leaders to solve complex, large-scale governance issues in areas such as education and employment, among others.
Under an initiative called ‘Saksham Haryana’, the company has collaborated with the government of Haryana to give free five lakh tablets to students in grades 11 and 12 and another three lakh tablets to students in grades 9 and 10 in the next academic session to facilitate distance learning.
In Uttar Pradesh, the company has taught basic literacy and numeracy skills to 1.2 crore public primary school children in an initiative called “Mission Prerna”. “It is the cornerstone of the nationally launched NIPUN Bharat Mission, many of whose guidelines are inspired by Mission Prerna,” says Goel, who quit his well-paying job at McKinsey to follow his passion.
Samagra has also developed the “Prerna Lakshya” app, in collaboration with Google, to be used by parents and teachers to assess students and also help them practice weaker skills.
In addition, the company has also worked in the agriculture, healthcare, public service delivery and skills sectors. She introduced the KALIA scheme in Odisha which provides life insurance coverage of ₹2 lakh at a nominal premium for cultivators and landless laborers in the age group 18-50 with a savings bank account.
“We have been instrumental in changing this narrative by working with the Government of Odisha on conceptualizing and facilitating the implementation of its flagship KALIA program. KALIA was also the forerunner of the central government’s PM-KISAN,” adds Goel.
However, none of this was easy as they had to make a “mindset shift” from custom, service-based, proprietary technology solutions to product-based, open-source technology solutions, in terms of is about how governments currently approach technology.
The road ahead
As Budget Day approaches, Indian startups have now raised hopes of reduced tax burden and increased funding and incentives to embrace digital practices for banking and beyond.
“Over the past few years, government and investor sentiment has been observed to be very supportive of the burgeoning startup ecosystem. The growing industry is already projected as the backbone of the economy; several policies and initiatives have also been introduced to drive progress,” says Pasha.
“Compared to the past few years, now seems like the perfect time to strike iron,” he told entrepreneurs looking to work in India.
“The journey from India at 75 (years of independence) to India at 100 is going to be transformative. This is a time to come back and help make the next 25 years count,” said said Goel, founder of Samagra, which sets the vision for those aspiring to join the ecosystem.
Comments are closed.