Edtech Startup For Healthcare Practitioners Virohan Bags $3 Mn

Gurugram-based Virohan, which is an edtech startup providing vocational training for paramedics and allied healthcare practitioners, has raised $3 Mn in Series A funding round led by Rebright Partners. Virohan will use the funding to expand to over 160 new campuses pan India with an aim to strengthen the Indian healthcare system amid the ongoing covid-19 crisis.

The capital will also help the company to augment its proprietary blended learning technology platform, with virtual reality-based practical training. The blended learning platform includes on-demand online training through bite-sized videos, real-time quizzes and gamification. This enables its partner colleges and students to switch seamlessly from in-classroom to online learning, the company explained in a press note.

Virohan, in its press note, explained that it bridges the gap between industry demand and the skills of the workforce by using its end-to-end proprietary ‘technology skill stack’ to enable job prediction, aggregate training providers and standardise processes across the student journey from mobilization to training content to placements.

All of Virohan’s courses emphasise on development of core technical skills, language abilities, and life skills for the student. These programmes also include internships at hospitals for hands-on practice of the skills acquired. Virohan works on a fee-based model and also offers a ‘Study Now, Pay Later’ option with easy installment-based payback options after a job is secured by the students.

Virohan founder and CEO Kunaal Dudeja, emphasised that the company aims to educate over one million students by the end of 2025. Founded in 2018 by Dudeja, Balin Saluja and Archit Jayaswal, the company claims to have trained over 5,500 students to date. Over 50% of Virohan’s student enrollments are female.

“Virohan’s full-stack offering brings in key stakeholders and partners in the ecosystem together on a common platform to solve the challenges faced by students, trainers, hospitals and healthcare innovators,” Brij Bhasin ,general partner of Rebright Partners, said.

As India is struck by the deadly second wave of Covid-19, Indian healthcare system has been facing an acute shortage of healthcare workers. Chairman and founder of Narayana Health Dr Devi Shetty, in a blogpost published last month, highlighted that the country’s healthcare system will run out of skilled personnel to treat Covid-19 at the rate the infection is rising.

According to National Health Workforce Account (NHWA) of 2018, there was a total stock of 5.76 Mn healthcare workers in India, which includes 1.16 Mn allopathic doctors, 2.34 Mn nurses/midwives, 1.20 Mn pharmacist, 270K Mn dentists and 790K Mn traditional medical practitioners. However, active workforce size estimated in 2017-2018 is much lower, 3.12 Mn. All these estimates are well below the WHO threshold of 44.5 doctor, nurses and midwives per 10,000 population

According to Inc42 Plus, India’s healthtech market is estimated to reach $21 Bn in 2025 on the back of telemedicine and preventive healthcare growth. Further, the report revealed that preventive healthcare in the country is expected to reach a market size of $170 Bn by 2025, primarily driven by fitness and wellness apps and diagnostics solutions.

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