Leaders

With profound developments in healthcare, comprised of hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance, and medical equipment, the healthcare industry is projected to reach $372 Bn by 2022. Many healthcare leaders have risen in the space, leveraging effective healthcare for the patients in the country. One such acknowledgeable leader from the gamut is Anjali Mittal, Founder & Director of KRM Healthcare- a healthcare service company that provides people with end-to-end healthcare solutions including Pathology, Home Healthcare, Radiology, and Pharmacy, right at the doorstep of patients. Let’s get to know about this passionate professional through an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur.

Brief us about your early educational journey and prior industry experience.

I studied B.Sc Economics from City University London, and M.Sc Economics and Politics from Kings College London. When deciding what subject I should specialize in, my father advised me to go for Economics over Business as Economics is a subject and business is something you learn through experience. I worked at JLL as a Strategic consultant focusing on the alternative real estate asset classes like Education and Healthcare industries. Through that, I met many hospital owners and doctors and understood this industry as an outside consultant. The healthcare industry still struggles with GST recovery, tech advancements and the reach in Tier- II and Tier-III cities, I wanted to address these issues through my entrepreneurial journey in the Healthcare industry.

What motivated you to find KRM Healthcare? Tell us about the underlying idea behind the venture and its key areas of specialization.

My father has been in the pharmaceutical industry all his life and healthcare is the industry I eventually wanted to pursue. KRM essentially stands for my grandfather’s name ‘Kulwant Rai Mittal’ and I strive to take the franchise forward of my family’s legacy. It was the COVID-19 pandemic that intrigued me to focus on Home Healthcare and Diagnostics, as many senior citizens were facing serious healthcare issues with no help around. The vision behind KRM is mainly to provide healthcare services in Tier-II and Tier-III cities where people still wait for a week to get their diagnostic reports.

"I firmly believe that every Entrepreneur should always Have a vision for their Business that goes beyond The bottom line & the p&l Statement"

We also want to build large paramedical workforce who are trained and empowered through KRM. Additionally, a majority of this workforce will be females as a male patient can be looked after by a female technician but not the other way around. Through our non-profit organization Immaculate foundation we will be training local people especially women, to join the paramedical workforce of India and thus empower them and also provide healthcare services in remote places of India. We are focusing on Oncology as our main specialization where we will provide Chemotherapy at home including all the required medicines, surgical consumables anddiagnostic care.

Throw some light on the differentresponsibilities you shoulder as the Founder & Director of KRM Healthcare.

I mainly realized the importance of brainstorming and freezing the business model at the start of the journey, whilst having the ability to be flexible and modify the business model to the changing situations. Once all the departments of a company are set, the most important work of the entrepreneur is to ensure their smooth running and to continuously focus on the changing tides of the industry and keep adapting. I firmly believe that running a business is basically having to put out a forest fire every day with minimal damage. As one of our main goals is to educate and empower, the growth of my team members is as important to me as the growth of the company itself.

What are some of the most critical challenges you encounter as an entrepreneur in healthcare? What steps do you undertake to overcome these roadblocks?

HealthTech is one of the biggest tools of growth in the industry we can use however the technologies are yet delayed to come to India. The growing need for automation in the healthcare industry is apparent, yet the merger of healthcare and HealthTech entrepreneurs hasn’t occurred completely. I want to give extra importance to the technology we use in KRM and make it accessible and comfortable for all end users. The biggest challenge in this area is the technologies being developed in India, but being outsourced directly and not being actively used in India. I want to make sure that the healthcare industry in India gets the boost of the latest technology and automation.

What has been your mantra for success?

My mantra for success has been to surround myself with the best possible team and experienced people from the industry. To constantly learn is to constantly grow. As a 28-year-old, I still have a long way to go in my career but I constantly take advice from my father and my mentor Dr. Shinde, who are the backbones of this enterprise.

Drawing from your personal experience, what advice would you give to aspiring women leaders/entrepreneurs?

It is extremely imperative to surround yourself with people who will be supportive and listen to you and give you sound advice. I think often women are silenced by people around them and this hinders their growth.Hence, I firmly believe that every entrepreneur should always have a vision for her business that goes beyond the bottom line and the P&L statements. There must be a reason why you are passionate about what you do and how you want to give back to the community.

Anjali Mittal, Founder & Director, KRM Healthcare

An efficient healthcare entrepreneur striving to strengthen the Indian healthcare space by offering endto- end healthcare solutions including Pathology, Home Healthcare, Radiology, and Pharmacy right at the doorstep of patients.

A business leader you admire – Ratan Tata because of the balance he creates in a successful business empire whilst contributing to the society by his humanitarian and philanthropic initiatives. My Father and Mother are leaders in the healthcare and education fields respectively and I learn from them everyday.