On Monday, Ola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of cab aggregator Ola, announced its partnership with GiveIndia to provide consumers with oxygen concentrators for free through the Ola app.
As part of Ola’s O2ForIndia initiative, the service will start rolling out in Bangalore starting this week. The company said that from an initial set of 500 oxygen concentrators, Ola and GiveIndia plan to scale it up across the country with up to 10,000 concentrators in the coming weeks.
“We must come together and help our communities during these unprecedented times. With the O2ForIndia initiative in partnership with GiveIndia, we will provide free and easy access to oxygen concentrators to those in need. We hope this initiative brings much-needed support during these very difficult times and helps in mitigating the pain and the anxiety among those impacted.” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, in a statement.
To avail of an oxygen concentrator, consumers will have to log into the Ola app and provide a few basic details. Once submitted, the request will be validated, and Ola will bring the concentrator to the consumer’s doorstep via one of its cabs with a specially trained driver.
Once the patient gets better and no longer requires the concentrator, Ola will pick up the device and return it to GiveIndia to supply for the next patient. The company said that this entire experience will be seamless, and the oxygen concentrator, as well as the doorstep delivery and pickup, will be completely free for consumers.
“We are happy to partner with Ola during these difficult times. Through this initiative, we will provide oxygen concentrators to those recovering or isolating at home, right at their doorstep. We hope the easier access to oxygen will ease the distress of many patients,” said Atul Satija, CEO and Founder 2.0 at GiveIndia, in the statement.
