(May 20, 2022) The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdown brought the world and the economy to its knees. Not for long though: various tech solutions soon sprung up to bridge the gap that had begun to make its presence the world over. If there were apps and web platforms to help people connect more easily and work remotely, there were services that bridged the last mile. But what of those that were not savvy enough to jump onto this new digital bandwagon? That’s where 17-year-old Gurugram-based Gavi Kothari stepped in with his startup Tech Help For All. The non-profit venture is aimed at helping both adults and children to get a lowdown on the new tech offerings and how to use them.
Gavi Kothari, founder, Tech Help For All
“At Tech Help For All, we follow a non-discriminatory policy and aim to make our content accessible to everybody. This is a website to help and educate people on how to use these apps, either for your work meetings or pure curiosity,” says Gavi in a conversation with Global Indian. He has stood first in the 2020 Math Olympiad, ranked 5th in Avishkar, an international robotics competition, and also had his AI-based sustainable development project rank in the top 10 in a global contest.
Tryst with robotics
A high schooler at Amity International School, Gavi’s love for technology and robotics began quite early. “I’ve always been fascinated by new gadgets and tech,” says the teen, who looks up to his parents Rupesh and Anjani Kothari, who’ve paved the way through their hard work and determination. “My dad lost his job due to the pandemic. But he didn’t back down. He went ahead and set up a new business that is now successful and proved that hard work and determination can solve any problem,” beams the lad, who also has a younger brother.
About a year ago, Gavi decided to launch Tech Help for All, a non-profit startup to help educate people on the latest consumer tech offerings and bridge the digital divide that had sprung up due to the pandemic. “During the pandemic, we would all go online for every little task. It was around this time that I realised that there were a lot of people who didn’t know how to use these tech platforms; even NGOs,” says the teen entrepreneur, whose startup creates video tutorials to help people understand how to use every day apps such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom among others.
Bridging the gap
Tech Help for All has now helped several NGOs in the areas of web development, fundraising, creating LinkedIn pages, and tutoring students apart from the video tutorials. “The idea is to help people navigate the maze of modern-day apps and softwares that have now become a part of our daily lives,” says Gavi, whose company has so far hosted 100 interns and has a team of 15 apart from 15 youth ambassadors.
Incidentally, the teen found his calling in tech rather early on and would often spend after school hours interacting with his Robotics teacher to further his passion towards the subject. He has participated in several competitions such as IRC and IIT Delhi’s Robo contest. Apart from these, Gavi is also currently working on an AI-enabled waste management project to work towards a cleaner tomorrow. “Dumping of waste in landfills has been a persistent problem. Though several of us now segregate garbage into wet and dry waste, it all ultimately lands up in the landfills affecting the environment,” Gavi tells, adding, “Through this project, we aim to convert waste into various industrial products at home. We’ve devised a system to segregate and convert waste into manure, biogas, electricity, metals, and 3D printed dustbins with minimal human interaction and easy operation. An app that we’ve developed also helps the user track his/her impact towards the environment.”
The teen entrepreneur, who is also interested in trekking, community work, singing and cooking, also ensures he’s constantly upgrading his knowledge and skill sets through certificate courses in AI and ML. He is also looking to pursue a career in robotics engineering.
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