Dunzo- and Unacademy-backer Blume Ventures is turning its attention towards the elderly in India as the world’s most populous country starts to grey.
With an estimated 145 million elderly individuals (aged 60 and above) and a projected 40% surge in this population by 2031, compared to a mere 8% rise in the general populace during the same timeframe, India presents a compelling market with both growing numbers and increasing purchasing power among its senior population.
In a report published by Blume Ventures, the firm has identified near-term opportunity in areas such as nutrition supplements, concierge, healthier snacks, safety and mobility aids, and entertainment sectors.
Senior tourism has a market size of $180 million and compared to developed markets, India’s market has room to grow exponentially in the coming years.
The concierge services market is estimated to touch $0.7 billion, while the overall health and wellness food sector is estimated to grow to $8.5 billion. The elder safety and mobility market is forecasted to hit $0.05 billion each,
Set up in 2010 by Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath, Blume has backed over 100 startups including Slice, Spinny, Classplus, Servify, Lambdatest, Koo, Locus, Healthifyme, smallcase, Euler, Jai Kisan, and Pixxel through multiple funds.
Blume Ventures, along with its founders’ fund, emerged as the top investor in April with a total of seven investments including AI-powered SaaS startup Clientell, gaming startup LightFury Games, spacetech startup Dhruva Space, construction and home improvement platform Wify, AI SaaS startup SiftHub, travel and lifestyle startup Assembly, and compliance automation startup Sprinto. The venture capital firm had closed six deals in March.
Only 13 startups in the elderly space in India have been funded by venture/angel funds. Companies operating in the elder care sector in India include Age Care Labs, Goodfellows, KareWise, SeniorWorld, GetSetUp, 60Plus India, ElderAid Wellness, and GenWise.
According to the Blume Ventures report, elders are likely to adopt one channel for all their needs, rather than manage a multitude of channels, adding that a full-stack platform can only cater to a sizeable market in the elderly sector of India.
Other sectors that see high priority in willingness to spend include fitness, senior homes, and insure tech. However, the report does not include the three as near-term opportunity areas as consumers still prefer traditional physical avenues for fitness and senior citizen insurance coverage is estimated to be less than 2% in India.