This startup has trailblazed the provision of emergency care to people across the country by providing ambulance services during critical times as the need arises
Dial4242, India’s well-known app-based ambulance network is built to deliver the best in emergency medical transportation to individuals across the country. The startup focuses on delivering not only emergency services but also provides assistance to patients in need of scheduled hospitalisations and/or discharges. The Dial4242 User app is available on the App Store and Playstore (Apple and Android users) and connects users to emergency facilities by providing timely ambulance services. With just one click or a call, a patient can have access to the ambulances associated with Dial4242 at the location of their choice.
The founders of this enterprise, Jeetendra Lalwani and Nilesh Mahambre, conceived the idea at a river cleaning drive organised by River March Organization in Mumbai. They realised the urgent need to address impending issues related to the first step in providing healthcare – establishing an ambulance-on-call service that would be independent of the roadblocks faced by users otherwise.
Nilesh Mahambre, an electrical engineer from Goa and the co-founder of Dial 4242, has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry and has worked with organizations such as Tata Consultancy Services and Lionbridge Technologies, where he served for 17 and 7 years, respectively.
Jeetendra Lalwani, the co-founder and director at Dial4242, is a marketer with over a decade’s experience having been associated with advertising agencies such as Leo Burnett, Bates 141, McCann, TBWA, and Cartwheel in India.
Gautam Amonkar, engineer and entrepreneur for 30 years from Goa is a director and an angel investor in Dial4242.
Dial4242 addresses the problems associated with ambulance availability, affordability and accessibility (The Rule of 3As). Using their home grown tech platform, the startup has been able to aggregate more than 5000 ambulances on their platform across 400+ cities and towns in India and are providing support to corporate power houses such the Tata Group, Shell India, Marico, Wipro, Kelloggs, etc.
Dial 4242 has signed up with an insurance company that will bring in 7 lac policyholders on to their platform and provide seamless accessibility to these holders in times of need. This recent critical step taken by the organisation marks it’s forte in identifying the dire precursors of the healthcare system in the nation. Presently, Dial4242 has more than 10 lakh consumers on their platform, which is available on a 24×7 basis throughout the year, to provide service with commitment.
The inception of this organisation dates back to 2016/17 when a personal experience triggered the establishment of this startup. The gruelling task of finding ambulances for multiple hospital visits, all in a span of four months with nothing but tardiness, risks of dependability and price variations made the founders recognise the need for quality emergency ambulance services.
The business model of Dial 4242 revolves around addressing the core difficulties that have been seeded in the ambulance market in the country.
With no regulated systems in place, consumers do not have a foolproof and reliable platform to procure ambulances, which in turn result in fatalities in times of emergencies. Technologically relevant systems such as live tracking of vehicles have been put in place and ambulance fees have been standardised to avoid insensitivity in times of need and crisis.
Dial4242 is a brand that believes in timely solution to medical emergencies; and in doing so, not only do they provide guaranteed ambulance access but also ensure that the line of medical staff be made available to the patients upon arrival at the hospital.
Apart from Nilesh, Jeetu and Gautam, the team also comprises Kishore Naidu – Chief Operating Officer (COO), Pankaj Pai Kakode – Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Dilip Kulkarni – a mentor and a strategist/planner in the startup. This team has been pivotal in their support to the venture and its growth.
The aggregate of ambulance business services being in the nascent stage, fundraising for the same has been an arduous task for the founders. However with the help of friends and family as well as with the founding investors on board, Dial 4242 has managed to achieve the growth rate of over 300% over the last 4 consecutive years. Commoners may connote the name ‘Uber of Ambulances’ to this venture based on the aggregation and co-ordination of vehicles; however, Dial 4242 is service-oriented with their value emphasis on consumer welfare and a stringent TAT (Turnaround Time)
Currently Dial4242 is present in 400+ locations in India and the detailed list of cities and towns is available on their website. The startup is expanding their network of ambulance operators and is adding new cities on a regular planned interval.
Having said this, the team is geared to handle ambulance requirements at practically any city in India, with a commitment to go global, as the means provide.
Dial4242 has already been launched in Goa with a aggregated fleet of 110 ambulances and partnership with 40+ hospitals and nursing homes. Dial4242 focuses on empowering consumers by means such as corporate memberships, partnerships with insurance companies, partnerships with travel companies and travel booking agencies, holding camps and awareness sessions in housing societies and social media campaigns.
Dial4242 has won the prestigious Maharashtra Startup Innovation Award 2021 in the healthcare category. There were 1800 participants from all over India who participated in these awards and Dial4242 was chosen as one of winners from over 100 finalists.
In September this year, Dial4242 won top honours at ET Leaders of Tomorrow Award & Conclave held at New Delhi. This is another feather in the cap for this young startup, which has strived day in and day out to make ambulance service available to the needy even during the peak covid-19 waves.
The above two awards won by Dial4242 is a culmination of five years of dedicated efforts by the entire team to improve the service levels in this sector. These awards are recognition of their efforts by the government and also the private sector entities. This also cements their position as one of the premier players which is bringing in a lot of innovation in this sector
As of now, Dial4242 is focusing on raising 5-6 million dollars to fuel their growth. The opportunity is burgeoning, both from the business side and also from improving the overall medical transportation ecosystem and they are at the forefront of this medical transportation revolution.
