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The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitisation process across India for all business sectors, especially the healthcare sector, which shifted to telemedicine and remote diagnosis almost immediately. 

In 2019, a year before the pandemic, entrepreneurs Amit Singal and Amit Vyas had started working on the digital transformation of the healthcare sector. Amit Singhal has 18 years of corporate experience and his last position was IT  Head for VECV/Royal Enfield – Eicher Group. Amit Vyas has more than 21 years and has worked in companies such as HCL, Aon among others before taking the entrepreneurial jump

The duo launched Gurugram-based Nexus Healthtech Pvt Ltd to revolutionise the healthcare system in India through technology and innovation. The startup aims to provide personal attention and touch to the users.

Nexus Healthtech — popularly known by its product name Maatri — is a digital health platform to help mothers track the health of their children along with other family members. 

It provides health-related update information, health monitoring, teleconsultation, and maintains health records, among others.

Speaking with YS, Amit Singal, Founder and CEO, says, “The word Maatri means mother in Sanskrit. The lady or the ‘powerhouse’ of the house manages her children, her family members, her work, and plays several other roles. Maatri, hence, has been built to assist them.”

The team currently includes 20 team members and 6 consultants.

Maatri: digital health ecosystem

Maatri is divided into several segments. The CEO explains that it helps mothers with children less than five years to track their growth as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards. 

It acts as a personal paediatrician, where mothers can keep a tab on their child’s vaccinations, developmental aspects, generate health cards, and connect with doctors online, among others. 

The product also helps parents recognise any early signs of developmental conditions among their children via a screening test.   

“We worked with child behaviour psychologists and developed a screening test to help the parents understand early signs of any development conditions,” he adds. 

Besides, women can use Maatri during their pregnancy period to track their and their child’s health. 

In fact, the product is not limited to just children. Women can also use Maatri to track the health of other family members. Not only human members, but Maatri also enables the user to add medical details about their pets.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Maatri partnered with NABL and ICMR certified labs to provide radiology and pathology services. It allows users to book COVID-19 tests online and get the tests done from the comfort of their homes. The reports are generated online and made available using the application.

Maatri also introduced the Vitals Tracker feature in its application to keep a track of oxygen, blood sugar, blood pressure, and temperature levels. 

Users can either connect with doctors associated with Maatri or share the recorded data with other doctors they are comfortable with for online consultations. 

Business and more

Speaking about the business model, Amit reveals that users can purchase subscription packages priced between Rs 199 and Rs 499 to access its services. 

Besides, the startup also earns revenue from its online consultation services provided by partner doctors.  

“Maatri has recorded more than 50,000 installs, over 61 expert doctors, and over 24 clinical tie-ups,” Amit adds.

In September 2020, the startup had raised $300K in its angel funding round. “We intend to cross Rs 10 million-mark by this financial year,” he adds. 

According to the IAMAI-Praxis report titled, ‘HealthTech Predictions 2021,’ the Indian healthtech market is growing at a 39 percent CAGR to reach $5 billion by 2023. 

Several notable players, including Pharmeasy, Practo, 1mg, and NetMeds, among others, are also working to become the top-most player in this growing segment.

Speaking about its future plans, the founder explains, at present, it is working towards building software for doctors and ensuring vaccination services at home. It is also looking to work with corporates for a B2B offering. 

“We aim to become a Rs 300-400 crore company in the next two to three financial years,” Amit says.