Indian Start-up Bodhi Health Selected for Solve Challenge MIT

Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, today announced the 60 Challenge finalists—selected from a pool of 1,150 applicants from 110 countries—who will present a live pitch of their solution to one of the most pressing global Challenges at the Solve Challenge Finals on September 23 in New York City to kick off UN General Assembly week.

During the event, the finalists will pitch their solutions to one of Solve’s 2018 Global Challenges: (1) Coastal Communities, (2) Frontlines of Health, (3) Teachers & Educators, and (4) Work of the Future to a panel of expert judges from organizations such as the World Bank Group, Rockefeller Foundation, TPG/The Rise Fund, World Health Organization, Citi, and Starbucks, and a live audience. After the pitches, Diane von Furstenberg, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Cheryl Dorsey will discuss bridging the pioneer gap for early stage innovators to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Solve Challenge Finals is a unique opportunity to showcase the most promising tech-based solutions to global challenges.” said Solve’s Executive Director, Alex Amouyel. “We had incredible diversity of solutions—nonprofits, for-profits, academic projects, all ages, and over 110 countries were represented. The judges had the difficult task of choosing the most promising ones. In the end, they chose 60 finalists who hail from 24 countries, and over 50% of these finalists are women.”

During the event, Solve’s esteemed panel of judges will choose 30+ finalists to become the next Solver class. As a Solver, these entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to meet and build partnerships with Solve members to help accelerate their solutions. More than $650,000 of funding is available for selected Solver teams.

Shrutika Girdhar, Co-Founder and CTO – Bodhi Health Education, Bodhi Health Education said, “As part of ASMAN (Alliance for Saving Mothers and New-Borns) initiative, Bodhi has developed Saving Lives at Birth – an AI & game based learning app that empowers skilled birth attendants and labor-room nurses to deliver high-impact & evidence based care for managing complications at birth. The app simulates real-life cases of complications while pushing the user to  identify and manage complications based on evidence based care. This helps in reinforcing positive behaviors among the healthcare providers while dealing with such cases in real life.”

The app will be rolled out in 80 healthcare facilities in the high maternal and child mortality states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in India over the next 12 months, she added.