Accelerating Start-ups in Affordable Housing
About Sheltertech Accelerator
With an existing estimated housing shortage of 10 million (Ministry of Housing) and an expected growth to 34 million (RNCOS estimates) by 2022, India’s housing shortage is humongous. What makes the Indian affordable housing challenge unique is the fact that nearly all demands are for affordable homes — 56% of the demand is from economically weaker section and 40% from lower income groups (Census 2011).
With aims to access a decent shelter, Habitat for Humanity, a global non-profit housing organisation with presence in more than 70 countries in the world, has committed itself to the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live in. Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter is one of Habitat for Humanity’s key commitments that facilitates efficient and inclusive housing market systems, making affordable housing possible for millions of families. When it comes to affordable housing, recent efforts from the Indian government have served as a welcome push for newer programs and projects in the area. However, public sector initiatives alone are not sufficient to drive sectoral changes required to meet the growing housing deficit. As an endeavor to look at an old problem in a way that is new and creative, while efficiently develop, test and scale up new products, services, and business models, Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter collaborated with Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) to boost the start-up ecosystem in affordable housing. CIIE is India’s largest incubator and is one of India’s leading centres catalysing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country through its various interventions and initiatives.
The ShelterTech Accelerator program was launched on September 29, 2018 by the Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter and CIIE.
Brief Highlights of the themes
To streamline possible solutions with various components of the housing value chain, the program will look at innovations in ten broad themes:
● Land, titling and construction permissions
● Construction technology and new materials
● Labour productivity and quality
● Material supply and procurement
● Access to financing and subsidies
● Sales and marketing
● Project management
● Professional services (engineering, design, compliance, and reporting)
● Enhance livability
● Alternative housing solutions
Applications were sought from startups offering market-based, innovative and scalable solutions that solve some of the critical challenges in affordable housing. Startups exclusively targeting affordable housing ecosystem or serving adjacent markets but with the ability and viability to cater to this segment, were encouraged. It was essential that the startup had a for-profit and scalable business model.
About the pitch
The program received 77 very interesting and diverse ideas from local and global start-ups. From this pool, 14 startups were invited for the in-person pitch on November 17, 2018.
The event started with a welcome address detailing the key aspects of the accelerator. After which each startup presented relevant details in a 10-minute pitch followed by questions. There were 11 panellists including representatives from Habitat For Humanity, Brick Eagle, Brigade REAP and CIIE, along with other subject matter experts. They were evaluated on five key parameters — team composition, scalability of the idea, technology/ product, value proposition and market potential.
Pitch highlights
Solutions presented in the pitch included innovative construction material, pioneering technologies for faster construction, construction management solutions for assured quality and better efficiency as well as solutions aimed at improving livability. While many solutions had proof of concept, there were also startups with promising ideas in ideation stage.
Cohort selection
The panel selected four start-ups to be the part of the first cohort of this accelerator.
1. Saltech Design Labs Private Limited: Established in 2017 by Anand with the aim of producing construction material using plastic waste, Saltech is engaged in manufacturing construction material like interlocking bricks for the walls & paver blocks. It’s brand ‘Recycler India’ offers a unique value proposition of emanating higher structural strength and cost efficiency over conventional construction material. The company is currently in product development and pilot testing stage.
2. Qwikspec: Is a Bengaluru based startup that offers site-management technology platform for the construction sector. They have built a platform which works in both online and offline mode and assists in keeping tabs on project sites. The platform provides real-time monitoring of the ongoing site work, manages schedules and can help reduce cost of construction of a project by up to 40%.
3. Pilmantis Innovations: Offers a water purification service through its signature product OCEO. It is an IoT enabled smart water purifier that is cost-effective and is offered to users at INR 1 per litre of water used. It specifically caters to a population challenged with non-reliable and expensive supply of potable water.
4. Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions Pvt. Ltd: The company is backed by IIT Madras and has created the first concrete 3D printer for construction in India. The machine enhances the speed of construction along with the possibility of customisation in every module.
Two more promising startups were identified for support. These included Chainspear LLP (developing blockchain technology for land registry), and Cure It (an alternative material maker to reduce water usage when curing concrete).
A boot camp for the selected startups is scheduled on December 13–15, 2018.
