Startups fight COVID-19: How B2B commerce platform Moglix is helping India fight the oxygen crisis
B2B ecommerce platform Moglix is doing its bit to fight COVID-19 by supplying PPE, oxygen concentrators, oximeters, thermometers, and more to essential goods and services companies to ensure that their employees stay safe amid the deadly second wave.
As India battles the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, startups, corporates, and individuals are all rallying together to ensure that they are doing their bit. The biggest challenge in the second wave is the dearth of oxygen cylinders along with crucial medicines.
B2B ecommerce startup Moglix has been supplying PPE, oxygen concentrators, oximeters, thermometers etc. to essential goods and services companies to ensure their employees are protected. It has also distributed 15 million+ PPE kits and safety items amid this pandemic.
Rahul Garg with Ratan Tata.
The startup has developed a "group sharing model" for increasing the impact of every oxygen concentrator by 100x, and is enabling organisations, NGOs, trusts, and RWAs to create oxygen concentrator banks for patients and providing a safety net for their communities.
The need for oxygen
Rahul Garg, Co-founder and CEO, Moglix explains that oxygen concentrators will play a big role in mild and severe cases in home/clinic care as hospitals struggle with bed and oxygen availability. This will reduce the burden on hospitals, while giving a much-needed window to patients as they arrange for medical care.
“We estimate the need for at least 100,000 oxygen concentrators across India. However, each person buying an oxygen concentrator for themselves is not scalable and will lead to inefficient distribution of precious resources. Most people will find the cost prohibitive and the requirement short-lived (one to two weeks),” Rahul says.
He adds the team believes in an efficient group sharing model for procurement and allocation of oxygen concentrators via corporates/ NGOs/ trusts/ RWAs, which has the potential to increase the impact of each oxygen concentrator by 100x.
“In this model we create an oxygen concentrator bank, typically via one of the organisations. Members of that organisation can then request for a short-term (three to seven-day) loan of the oxygen concentrator if they need it,” Rahul says.
“Moglix is working with IIT startup Nocca Robotics to ensure indigenous ventilators are able to reach hospitals and people who have the requirement,” Rahul says.
Helping those who need help
Moglix has already provided oxygen concentrators to 25+ organisations in the last 10 days under this model to help thousands of employees and their families. These include1mg, Tata Steel, BCG, EY, Grant Thornton, Uber etc.
“If your organisation would like to join us in this mission to provide a safety network to corona warriors, please write to us at [email protected]. We can help you set up similar network-based models for your organisation and share our learning/ SOPs. Let us come together to do our bit in this fight,” Rahul adds.
Moglix has also set up home quarantine services, mental health counselling services, SOS task force team of volunteers, insurance cover and COVID care fund for their 1m000+ corona warriors – the Moglix employees keeping the supply chain for critical items running.
Last year, Moglix donated one lakh masks to government hospitals at the forefront of fighting this pandemic.
Edited by Teja Lele