Indian ambulances are being upgraded with more organized players

For example, the hinterland of Maharashtra is set to receive a significant medical upgrade with the state government partnering with Sumeet-SSG, a joint venture between Pune-based Sumeet Group Enterprises and Spanish emergency transport provider SSG Matrix, to deploy a fleet of 1,756 advanced ambulances.

Maharashtra is just one example and the country’s ambulance sector is seeing a shift towards organized ambulance players and also increases in the quality of ambulance service with major start-ups entering the segment.

The joint venture, 51 percent from Sumeet-SSG and 49 percent from the Maharashtra government, will start implementation before the end of 2024 to implement the ‘Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services’ (MEMS) 108 ambulance project and will complete the project by the end of 2024. in the middle of next year.

108 ambulance project

“Fleet deployment is likely to be completed by mid-2025,” said Summit Salunke, vice president of Sumeet Group Enterprises.

India’s ambulance services industry is largely unorganized but growing steadily. According to a report by consulting firm Primus Partners, the Indian ambulance market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1% during 2024-2028.

However, the report stated that the sector still lacks private care services. Of the 17,495 ambulances currently in operation, only 3,441 are Advanced Life Support (ALS) units. These units have advanced equipment such as cardiac monitors and ventilators for critical care of patients. Basic Life Support (BLS) units make up a large portion of current fleets and focus on emergency care such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Recent years have seen the entry of more organized players into this segment.

Red.Health

Launched in 2016, Hyderabad-based start-up Red.Health has partnered with more than 100 hospitals, including leading chains such as Apollo and Fortis. The company provides ambulance services as well as managing emergency call centers of hospitals in more than 20 cities in India.

Prabhdeep Singh, CEO and founder of the company, said Red.Health has more than 200 ALS units in its fleet of 400 ambulances. Mint. In May, the company raised $20 million in series B financing. The capital is being used to expand its fleet and also focus on improving its sales. technology and improving response times. Red.Health has many buyers in hospitals as well as individual patients. “More and more patients and hospitals are realizing that unorganized operators cause a lot of problems,” Singh said, “So independent or unorganized operators are being blacklisted.”

Another Hyderabad-based start-up, TEN, which started operations in 2022, works as an ambulance aggregator. It has nearly 450 small-scale ambulance operators on its platform and partners with more than 25 hospitals in 6 cities.

As an aggregator, the firm aims to standardize services and address operational issues such as slow response times, but profitability remains a concern.

TEN ambulance collector

“We are burning money right now,” said Kishore Manepalli, CEO and founder of TEN. Mint. However, the company is in advanced talks for a second round of financing. Start-up secured in 2023 ₹1.5 crore in angel funding round. Manepalli said the company plans to become profitable in the next 12-18 months.

Red.Health’s Singh said the company is operationally profitable. “We are moving towards ebitda profitability,” he said. “Our mission is to provide care to patients virtually free of charge and finance it through hospital partnerships.” EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Salunke did not respond to the question of profitability, saying: “This is a fixed service fee model billed to the government.”