OPINION
How investment and acceleration can make Healthtech startups trulyAYUSHMAN? Dr BS Ajai Kumar, Chairman & CEO, HCG Enterprises and Devang Mehta, Partner, Anthill Venturesshares insights on theright strategy for health startups
T
he term Ayushman, with its roots in Sanskrit, is synonymous with longevity. Applied to various contexts, longevity is a state everyone aspires for – be it in personal life or in the context of an organisation. Businesses operate on a 'going concern' basis, a premise that presumes functioning of the business without the threat of closure or failure for the foreseeable future. Over the last few decades, the increasing advent of disruptive forces enabled by rapid innovation, fastreducing barriers to entry across multiple industry verticals, rise of the digital economy, easier access to capital, free markets among others have resulted in numerous survival headaches for established companies. Early stage companies face even more trying circumstances, on a regular basis, to sustain and survive in brutal competitive environments. Specifically, in the healthcare industry, tech-enabled businesses are redefining solutions to existing and new problems. The healthcare market in India is expected to grow to nearly US$300 billion by 2020. Specific
EXPRESS HEALTHCARE
25
December 2018