How this startup is helping auntyjis and unclejis take control of their lives by empowering them digitally
Mumbai-based Empowerji, founded by Aparna Thakker, helps senior citizens navigate the digital maze with online and offline workshops. Be it booking cabs online, using social media, or phishing alerts, Empowerji aims to make life simpler for our seniors.
Aparna Thakker - Founder of Empowerji
How many of us are guilty of giving up on our parents when it comes to technology? We are often too hassled, bored, or impatient to help them with technological tools that can make their life a little easier.
So we leave it to them to grapple with the intricacies of net banking and UPI, of opening Facebook and Snapchat accounts, and countering spam.
It may seem amusing, but it’s not. Every day we hear accounts of senior citizens being swindled just because they were not very conversant with how technology worked. There have been cases where they have given away their OTPs and passwords to scammers, without realising the repercussions.
So how does one empower senior citizens to take charge of the technological aspects of modern living?
Enter Empowerji, a Mumbai-based startup founded by Aparna Thakker that helps senior citizens learn technology.
Aparna explains, “Empowerji is mainly inspired by first-hand experiences of people close to me. The convenience that technology brings is undeniable, but I observed that senior citizens shied away from using it. Using apps, sites, and devices does not come naturally. Busy children like me don’t have the time to patiently teach their parents. And because of this, though there are easier tech alternatives to doing things, seniors continue to do things the old, tedious way. I thought that if there was someone to simplify technology for seniors, it may not be as daunting for them to adopt it in their daily life.”
“That is why I founded Empowerji which literally means empowering the ji’s (Auntyji’s and Uncleji’s) in our lives. Empowerji is aimed at bridging the gap between seniors and technology so that they can live happier, independent lives,” she adds.
A helping hand
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A training session at Empowerji
Aparna’s road to entrepreneurship, like most others, began with a stint in the corporate sector. After completing her bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering, a master’s in telecommunications, and an MBA, she worked with a telecommunications multinational. She later quit her job to be a co-founder of her first startup in education technology, which mainly dealt with students and education institutes.
Empowerji helps seniors independently learn technology. The team’s target audience is people over the age of 50 years. According to Aparna, this group constitutes over 150 million of India’s population. It is an underserved market with barely any products or services directly catering to them except for in the medical and care space.
She elaborates: “We conduct basic technology workshops and customised workshops in Mumbai. Our workshops are hands-on so as the instructor explains an app or site, team members in the audience ensure that every senior is trying it out on their smartphone. So it’s not a lecture; it is an interactive session where learning happens. We have also built a library of learning content in multiple languages like Hindi, English, Gujarati, and Marathi, which is exclusively available through our mobile learning app. These are simple videos on how to use other apps. Our online learning platform conducts live instructor-based learning sessions on everyday apps and websites.”
Empowerji is also releasing a learning series called ‘Basic Technology for Seniors’ in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada, which is handcrafted for parents whose children live abroad. Since these parents live away from their children, they may be dependent on others for tech help.
Staying safe online
An important area that Empowerji works on is cybersecurity. “In one workshop, we were discussing phishing attacks and an attendee brought to our notice that he keeps getting pre-approved credit cards that he is tempted to accept but does not remember ever applying for. We informed him that this is a standard phishing tactic and should be ignored. We have received so many ‘thank you’ messages from seniors who really think we have positively contributed their lives. In a recent online lesson, one of the attendees was so happy because she used WhatsApp regularly but never knew how to send location and how to stop automatic media downloads in chat,” Aparna says.
Empowerji’s basic workshops called ‘Stay Connected’ are free of cost for senior citizens. Other customised workshops are chargeable. The app was launched as a free resource but there are plans for monetising it. Considering the audience, the company has consciously kept low price points for general sessions while any custom requirements may be higher. The startup has so far conducted 80 hands-on workshops in Mumbai.
Reaching out to senior citizens has been a challenge, admits Aparna.
“Since they are all not online, our campaigns are a mix of online and offline. Learning online is a new concept for older adults, but it is the only way forward. Seniors prefer to learn face-to-face from people, but now they will need to adjust to learning from a face inside the computer screen. That requires a change in mindset but I am hopeful they will come around.”
The startup’s future plans include extending its reach beyond boundaries and helping seniors through online learning platforms.
“By helping seniors gain access to technology, we can empower them to improve their lives. By learning to use devices and social media they can stay in touch with loved ones, learning online payments can help them conveniently pay utility bills, learning to book a cab can help them travel in comfort. Digital dependence or feeling of not ‘fitting-in’ to today’s times can negatively impact one’s confidence. When a senior can take care of her needs independently she feels a sense of achievement. These positive feelings can add happier years to life. So digital empowerment is truly a boon,” Aparna says.
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