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Writer's pictureSanthosh Gandhi
Oct 146 min read

Indian ElderCare Market Insights


In this blog, I will discuss the Indian elder care market, based on insights from Blume Ventures and Niti Aayog Report.




Who are Elders?

The population aged 60 and above is called the elderly population. We colloquially call them senior citizens. I witnessed investors sharing a lot of insights related to the eldercare market lately.


Why are investors suddenly so interested in the elder care market?

  1. The first obvious reason is the increase in the overall size of the elderly population. Currently, the Indian elder population, aged 60 and above, makes up roughly 10% of the total population. Due to increased life expectancy, it’s estimated that by 2050, this figure will rise to 19.5% of the total population. This means that, in 2050, 1 out of every 5 Indians will be aged above 60. Very Importantly most of this growth in the size of the elderly population will happen within 2031.

    Based on Source: Niti Aayog Senior Care Report


2. The second reason is that, for many decades, most Indian senior citizens were economically dependent on their families, such as their children or relatives. However, according to a UN report, by 2025, the dependency ratio of this elderly population will be the lowest in decades. This means that this generation of senior citizens will be more economically independent and have a greater ability to spend compared to previous generations.


3. The third reason is the increased access to technology among senior citizens. It’s evident that many urban elders are using smartphones, especially post-COVID

Due to all these three factors, it is estimated that the current Indian elder care market, which is valued at 7 billion dollars, is expected to reach 50 billion dollars by 2030.


So, if you’re able to build scalable products and services that solve problems for senior citizens, Investors might be interested in your startup.


To build products and services for senior citizens, you need to understand the problems they face. While many of you might think that the most obvious issue is physical health, let’s discuss physical health later. There are other important problems as well.

1. Mental Health 

One of the less-discussed problems faced by elders is mental health. Many seniors, especially after retirement, experience limited socialization due to changing social structures. They find it difficult to cope with younger generations and modern trends, which ultimately leads to feelings of isolation. Studies show that 1 out of 5 elders have mental health issues.

Business Opportunity: Senior Tourism

One potential business opportunity here is senior tourism. Yes, group holiday packages designed to be senior citizen-friendly can attract elders who are looking for companionship. These tours not only allow like-minded seniors to connect but also help reduce feelings of isolation.


The estimated total addressable market size for Indian senior tourism is around 180 million US dollars. Founders can effectively capture this market by using targeted offline marketing like word of mouth through rotary and recreation clubs, as well as doing online advertising on platforms like Facebook. Some startups focusing on this space are Senior World and Khyaal.


2. Limited Mobility & Safety

The Second Problem is Safety. Because many senior citizens face limited mobility it makes them vulnerable to physical accidents. Like they could easily fall or slip. So, making homes elder-friendly is crucial for ensuring elders' safety and well-being. This is where the second business opportunity lies.


Business Opportunity: Safety and Mobility Aids

Elder safety aids include products like fall detection devices, non-slip shower mats, grab bars, and home safety devices like CCTV cameras for monitoring. Mobility aids can include walking sticks, walkers, and wheelchairs of various kinds.

The estimated Total addressable Market Size of both Safety & Mobility aids is 100 million US dollars. Elder Ease and Seniority are some startups focusing on this area.


3. Lonely Elder Parents

The next problem is that many senior citizens are living alone without their children. Statistics indicate that around 60% of families in India are nuclear families.

3 crore Indians live abroad, and about 30 lakh people migrate outside India each year. As a result, many elderly parents are left alone here in India. Studies show that 1 in 2 elders struggle to perform daily activities. So Somewhere they need personal assistance & help. This is where the next business opportunity lies.


Business Opportunity: Concierge or Care Managers

They are personal helpers who assist and coordinate tasks for seniors, such as scheduling doctor consultations, buying groceries, providing support during emergencies, Banking Support, etc. However, they don’t commit to being full-time attendants. Instead, they offer personal assistance on a subscription model. Some startups focusing on this area are Emoha and Elder Aid.


The estimated Total Addressable Market Size for this segment is 700 million US Dollars. There are approximately 7 to 10 million elders in India whose children live overseas or in other cities, particularly in the high-income bracket. As an aspiring founder in this space, these are the target customers you should focus on.


4. Decline in physical health

The last major problem many senior citizens commonly face is a decline in physical health.3 out of 4 elders have chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. This makes frequent hospital visits and healthcare an inevitable part of their lives. 70% of elders in rural face challenges in accessing healthcare. 

This problem leads to multiple business opportunities depending on the needs of elders: Let's See one by one.


1st Business Opportunity: Senior Living homes (Real Estate Based)

where Elders will move out of their homes and start living in senior community villas, senior homes, or senior day care facilities, which will offer full-time or part-time medical & Supportive services depending on their needs. Major companies in this space are Covai Care and Antara Senior Living.


However, since this is more of a real estate-based business, venture capitalists might not be interested in investing in this segment. As our blog primarily focuses on venture capital, I wanted to highlight this viewpoint.


2nd Business Opportunity: Home Health Care

where medical and supportive services are provided in an elder’s home like Nursing Care, Memory Care & Palliative Care. Studies show that there is a significant demand from elderly individuals to receive medical care and support in the comfort of their own homes. 

Unfortunately, only 33% of the players in the healthcare market focus on Home healthcare, and the rest of them focus on the first business opportunity. Portea and HCAH are notable companies in this segment.


3rd Business Opportunity: Elderly Nutrition

To manage physical decline to boost immunity seniors take dietary supplements like Vitamin Tablets, Herbal Supplements, Probiotics, Proteins, Ayurveda, etc. Estimated that the Total Addressable Market Size of this segment is 3 Billion US dollars.


Now let's see the Challenges in Elder Care Market

  1. Perception of the caretaker job needs to be changed for people to take this up as a career because many people leave after 6–7 months after the training. So There is a Lack of quality standard human resources across senior care and living sectors.


  2. The next Challenge is 78% of the elderly population is without a pension and Only 18% of seniors are covered by Health insurance. In my opinion, Most of the services I mentioned in this blog can be affordable by India 1 & India 2A which roughly constitute about 30–40 million, These are families who have high incomes. Apart from India 1 & India 2a Acquiring customers from nuclear families who can afford approximately ₹25,000 per month is difficult. Check here If you want to know more about this 3 India Framework.


What is the key to success in the elder care market?

  1. Venture Capital Firms Blume & Experienced operators in Elder Care see building hyper-local communities as crucial for successful eldercare startups. As discussed earlier leveraging Offline communities like senior citizen clubs, and rotary clubs. can be strong channels to drive the growth of the eldercare business.


  2. Also, experts suggest the going full stack approach is a license to win the Elder Healthcare Market because customers prefer to adopt one channel rather than multi-channel. This means bringing all these solutions (mention) under one umbrella and companies can decide which products they want to offer in-house and which ones they want to outsource to optimize margins. HCAH is a good example of a full-stack approach because it offers multiple services.


3. Learning from Elder Care Markets in other countries will be very helpful: Japan is one such market where 35% of its population is already above 65. we also have cultural similarities so what worked there will it will work here also. The elder market size in Japan is 950 Billion. Businesses like Elder Nutrition, Devices, tools & robots specifically built for helping elders, Elder focused online forms offering reverse mortgage, Insurance & succession planning all are working across the globe.



In my personal opinion, the elder care market is not just another fancy industry. Currently, India is one of the youngest nations which means at some point India will become the eldest nation too. So as a country, we need to build products & services that support senior citizens in the future.


 

Feel Free to connect with me on Linkedin! https://www.linkedin.com/in/isanthoshgandhi 


 

Sources & References

1.Blume ElderCare Blueprint- https://blume.vc/reports/eldercare-bluprint 


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