The govt. of India had recently banned 59 Chinese app, including some popular brands like Tik Tok, We Chat, Cam Scanner and ShareIT among others to counter the threat posed by these applications to the country’s sovereignty and security.
The ban is imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009. The move could be seen as a blow to China’s Digital Silk Route ambitions, eroding the valuation of the companies. It could also lead to more countries following India’s cue and acting against these apps in the longer run.
On the other hand, it has given a chance to the homegrown apps to utilize this opportunity and flourish in the market. One such Made-in India app is UDo, which connects people from experts anytime anywhere through video conferencing with unlimited access to breakout rooms, career consultants, yoga trainers and life coaches can conduct classes. This app is free for students and yet pay experts to answer queries.
UDo is a brainchild of Teja Gudluru, who along with two other co-founders believed in this unparalleled venture as a platform that can benefit users who need help, experts who have time to spare and companies who are looking for specific databases to reach out to. UDo is backed by a strong panel of Industry experts on their advisory board. This makes it a very accommodating and sustainable model.
It not only enables people to seek expert advice but also remunerate experts for signing up in their field of expertise and providing opinions. It acts like a real buddy and provides advices on every dilemmas of life, whether it be the relationships or shopping advice.
In an Exclusive Interview with Unkrate India, the Founder & CEO of Udo, Teja Gudluru spoke on topics ranging from the impact of lockdown on the talent in the country to ban on Chinese apps to how he fits in the vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
Providing Employment at the time of Pandemic
In this unprecedented situation, job destruction caused by the nation-wide lockdown recorded the highest job loss in the economic history in India. The number of people whose employment is insecure may be almost as large as the population of Russia.
To consider this situation, there are some platforms or apps like Udo-now who are providing employment to those who have lost jobs in this pandemic time. “We are giving them the opportunity to earn money as a freelancer. Teachers can conduct classes online using video conferencing app with unlimited access to breakout rooms, career consultants, yoga trainers and life coaches can conduct classes. With the help of technology, people can earn money without any hassle. It will protect people from mental health issues and dullness,” says Gudluru.
“As an Indian app, we are helping freelancers to become experts and earn extra income during the pandemic. UDo-now.com makes sure the app remains free for students to use and yet, pays experts to answer queries,” he further adds.
Vision for Atma Nirbhar Bharat
Being a Make in India app, UDo is supporting the concept of Atma Nirbhar Bharat, a term introduced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to motivate the homegrown talent and customers to b self-reliant. “We are helping those teachers, experts who have lost their jobs in this lockdown period due to some reasons. They can join us and give advice to thousands of people across India by sitting at home,” says Gudluru
Demand and Growth on the Platform
With 90% of India being at home, UDo has witnessed a steady increase in the downloads and usage. Gudluru says, “Though it’s been a few weeks of launching an updated version of the app, we have seen more than 20k downloads and over 300 experts signing up willing to make money by working from home. A lot of coaches and Free Lance trainers are using the app to video consult with their users and seamlessly make money.”
While currently Udo only deals with Indian experts and get queries from India, they plan to go global with the app in the last quarter of this years, starting with ASEAN and UK. The expansion will follow with the rest of the world next year. “We intend to hit the 1 Million download mark by July 2021. We are currently bootstrapped and would be initiating talks with investors later in this to make this growth possible,” concludes Gudluru.
