Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, there is an urgent need of providing access to basic relief services such as food, shelter, healthcare, and even jobs to blue-collar workers and migrants. So, to. provide relief services to millions of COVID-19 lockdown impacted Indians, Airtel has partnered with tech start-up Vahan.
Vahan is a Bengaluru-based AI tech start-up, which matches job seekers with employers inside messaging apps such as WhatsApp. In October 2019, Airtel had also acquired a stake in Vahan as part of its Startup Accelerator Program. Now, Bharti Airtel and Vahan are bringing together its resources and using technology to connect such impacted workers in Delhi and Bengaluru with the nearest support centers and NGOs.
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Airtel will launch a massive SMS campaign to reach all such impacted workers on its network. The SMS, which will be sent in English, Hindi, and Kannada, will carry a quick link that will guide users to Vahan’s platform. Once the receiver clicks the link, Vahan will use its advanced Artificial Intelligence solution inside messaging apps such as WhatsApp to connect the user with the nearest relief providers. Vahan has already created a resource pool of 1000+ help groups, NGOs who are working actively to help fellow citizens.
Commenting on the launch Madhav Krishna, CEO of Vahan said, “We at Vahan, in close partnership with Airtel, are really proud to be able to leverage the power of our technology to touch millions of the most needy when they require our help the most. We are also excited about our ability to help these people get jobs as we all work towards returning to normalcy”.