Innovation is the key to success of business. In the wake of the recent crisis, innovation has become all the way more important to survive in the industry. Entrepreneurs and trendsetters have been agile to swiftly retort to the threat brought in by the covid-19 pandemic. Many of these innovations have been coming from a horde of start-ups who all are rallying to combat the adverse effects of pandemic with technology and innovation. From the verge of shutting down their operations temporarily to staying strong and finding new avenues to bounce back, start-ups are bringing out their best and grabbing new opportunities to flatten the curve.

The reason behind the initiatives for innovation can also be attributed to the frantic need of bringing back things to normal, respond to the earnestness of the benevolent situation and a hands-on approach to crowdsourcing ideas from the government.

The pandemic has definitely opened up doors across sectors and given opportunities to businesses to stay nimble and coerce entrepreneurs strike new ideas that would lead to revamping their businesses in a covid free world. Some start-ups have successfully selling testing kits while some are developing predictive analysis tools to provide tailored recommendations to individuals. No wonder that our country is blessed with such innovative minds that crack solutions for problems with restricted resources.

Some of the areas of start-up innovations that we can talk about are:

Robotics – With the rise in numbers of covid positive cases during unlock phases, social distancing norms are been questioned. The spread of the virus among crowds especially in public places like bus depots, airports is a topic of concern. B

Besides this, the hygiene factor also is a matter of concern. Understanding this, few start-ups have developed robots that can be deployed in public spaces for handing out hand sanitizers along with spreading messages about maintaining social distancing a cleanliness in public places.

An IIT incubated start-up, Nocca Robotics is reported to develop cost effective, portable ventilators that can even be used in rural areas

These robots can also be allotted in isolation wards of hospitals to bring food or medicines to the patients. This will reduce the risks of infection transmission. In terms of innovation, many of the tech and healthcare start-ups are also making covid tests easily available at home. These tests can be booked using their app.

Some are also in the process of developing affordable ventilators to treat critical cases. An IIT incubated start-up, Nocca Robotics is reported to develop cost effective, portable ventilators that can even be used in rural areas.

Chemical Formulations - Realizing the importance of a hygienic surrounding, start-ups have been working on chemical formulations to disinfect public spots. A start-up named Droom has introduced antimicrobial coating and treatment to inhibit surface to surface transmission. Its germ shield technology has been a big step towards preventing mass spread.

Also, many of them have partnered with health players to bring out chemical formulations to make water-based sanitizer disinfectants. Some are also taking help of the Government and using drones to supervise the application of the social distancing norms. Some of them are also using drones to deliver medical supplies to affected areas.

Digital Platforms – Be it edtech ot e-commerce, the adoption of technology by start-ups owing to Covid have been remarkable. With the surge in the adoption of online learning, start-ups have been on a constant innovation spree to ensure elevating digital experience to both students and teachers.

Many renowned start-ups in the education domain have adopted digital classrooms and are offering free classes by leveraging the potential of AI, gamification, and others. Byju’s, Vedantu, Toppr, UpGrad, have innovated new methodologies to stay ahead of the game.

e-commerce start-ups too have seen an upsurge in online shopping given the new social distancing norms. Online grocery platforms like BigBasket and Grofers are boosting their sales like never before. Start-ups have a lot of scope to innovate in these segments.

Mobility – The rapid spread of the virus has restricted people’s movement across cities. The transport system has been badly hit by the new social distancing rules however, this has also opened new ways in front of them and think innovatively. Few of the mobility services start-ups are developing intermodal routing algorithms to help users select available mobility options within a limited proximity thereby keeping social distancing norms intact.

Despite being badly hit by the pandemic wave, these start-ups are constantly looking out for news ways to innovate and survive the crisis. While being back to normal is a question of time, but with new ideas and concepts they can surely combat the crisis and stand strong.