Startups founders crowdfund to help Delhi hospitals with Oxygen Concentrators

To support Delhi and Delhi NCR hospitals with oxygen in light of demand outstripping supply, many startup founders have launched ‘Mission Oxygen’ to import oxygen concentrators. The machine concentrates oxygen from the ambient air and supplies it to the patient.

Democracy People Foundation has started the initiative. Snehil Khanor of TrulyMadly, Mansha Kaur of Heart On My Sleeve, Hubhopper founder Gautam Raj Anand, Rahul Agarwal and Varun Agarwal of Designhill, Rahul Hari of Satvacart, Uday Anand of Mycrushfit,  Gautam Ghai of Sourcefuse, Cuttlfish founder Shikher Gupta among others are supporting the initiative. The fundraiser has also seen support coming from Bollywood celebrities. Some prominent names include actor Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Bachchan and Kunal Kapoor among others.

The startup founders have raised INR 4.70 Cr through crowdfunding platform Ketto by Saturday evening. They are further aiming to raise a total of INR 5 Cr to meet the demand of 3000 concentrators. The group has already procured 500 concentrators from China which will be made available in hospitals by April 28. It expects another 500 concentrators to reach by next week. The founders have urged citizens to come forward to join the national effort in saving lives given a massive rise in COVID cases.

Other startups gearing up for the Covid fight

Several startup entrepreneurs, investors and startup collectives have joined India’s fight against a ravaging second wave of Covid-19. They are donating funds and providing logistics to help hospitals procure oxygen and other essentials. Some are simply helping by aggregating information that people in need can use.

For instance, Delhivery co-founder Sahil Barua has stated that the company will fly charters with its airline partners to provide the country with oxygen concentrators and other essentials, to build more capacity. Meanwhile, payment gateway provider Razorpay has announced that it will support NGOs to accept donations through digital payments. It will allow them to set up payment pages on its platform and support them with instant, same-day settlements. Similarly, Sequoia Capital managing director Shailendra J Singh tweeted that their search for oxygen cylinders. "We got a few dozen leads that we are pursuing now, including some amazing referrals from our friends in Sequoia China," he said in a social media post.

Reports suggest that manufacturing units, too, are repurposing some of their plants to produce oxygen or setting up new units. For instance, UPL said it plans to convert four of its nitrogen production plants in Gujarat to produce and deliver oxygen to four hospitals in Gujarat and MP. "These plants will then be skid-mounted and delivered directly to hospital sites. This innovation by UPL will help cater to 200-250 beds at each of these hospitals including ICU patients," it said. Similarly, IFFCO is getting one of its facilities in Uttar Pradesh to produce oxygen.

Many startup founders are rallying behind Action Covid-19 Team Grants (ACT Grants). The grants announced a plan to raise Rs 75 crore for home health management, oxygen solutions, vaccinations and supplement medical workforce. It has already raised Rs 50 crore in less than 24 hours.