HYDERABAD: Apps sure have made our lives hassle-free. Right from food to travel to shopping, everything is just a click away. Now, helping make emergencies a lot less worrisome is an app, Ambipalm, created by Hyderabadi Leonard Jackson. Simply put, it’s an app to hire ambulances.
Sharing how he chanced upon the idea of creating an app for ambulance services, Leonard says, “I lost my brother in a motorcycle accident in 2016 because he could not get to a hospital in time. The tragedy hit me hard. In 2019, my wife and I saw a hoarding of Uber and thought why not have a similar app for ambulances? We loved the idea, but didn’t think much about it. After a point, I realised that it was meant to be and began working on it. My wife and I partnered with a client, Kameron Abraham, and months later, the idea came alive.”
The trio started work on the idea in March 2019, which finally went live in October 2020. “Today, we have over 90 employees, with activities based out of Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Our head office is in Hyderabad and a major chunk of the employees are based out of the city.”
Taking us through how they put the app together, Leonard shares, “We tied up with local service providers, which came with a lot of challenges. Before we hire somebody, there is a series of quality checks done on the vehicle and a background check of the driver. The app is similar to a cab service app, however, our drivers can’t cancel any request made. We have a legal agreement with the service providers. Whenever there’s a request for an ambulance, an alert is sent to our call centre support team as well. Even if someone is unable to find a driver, customer care would help them book one.”
Ambipalm is user-friendly and even a 12-year-old would be able to call an ambulance in times of emergency. Apart from the ambulance service, the app also helps with a list of blood donors. It helps customers request and connects with blood donors, based on the requirement. The service is free of charge.
Today, the app has over 50,000 downloads. It will soon get more features, Leonard says. “We are soon coming up with a nutrition app called Nutripalm. This is still in the development stage, we hope to go live in another three-four months. This is part of our aim to make our organisation a one-stop solution for all medical needs,” he adds.