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The builder's path

Five steps from a problem to its solution.

For: Families in Mumbai caring for someone newly diagnosed with dementia can't find trained caregivers or a memory clinic close to home.

“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Epictetus · Enchiridion 1 (tr. W. A. Oldfather)

Routes to a solution

Six ways to take this forward

Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Maharashtra.

  1. Step 1

    Join an impact incubator

    Shape a model that pays for itself without excluding the people who need it.

    • SINE, IIT Bombay ↗

      IIT Bombay's incubator for technology startups.

    • Villgro ↗

      Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.

    • Social Alpha ↗

      Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.

    • Acumen ↗

      Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.

  2. Step 2

    Raise patient capital

    Impact funds and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.

    • Villgro ↗

      Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.

    • Social Alpha ↗

      Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.

    • CIIE.CO (IIM Ahmedabad)

      Incubator and investor at IIM Ahmedabad, with impact programmes.

    • Acumen ↗

      Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.

What this problem needs

Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.

  • Open data
  • Maps
  • Matching people
  • Support and funding

Ideas to explore

  • Idea 1Dementia care near meA directory by Mumbai suburb of memory clinics, day care, therapists and carer agencies, with cost, languages, services and a 'last verified' date checked by phone each quarter.
  • Idea 2First-month guideA short, step-by-step guide in Marathi, Hindi and English for families after diagnosis: what to ask the doctor, how to adapt the home, and where to find caregiver support groups.

Specific to this problem

Talk to first

  • KEM Hospital Memory Clinic ↗

    Runs the only dedicated government memory clinic in Maharashtra and sees where families struggle after diagnosis.

  • Dignity Foundation

    Runs a dementia day care centre in Mahim and caregiver support groups and training.

  • Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI)

    National dementia organisation that supports people with dementia and their carers.

Starter prompt

Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.

Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Problem: Families in Mumbai caring for someone newly diagnosed with dementia can't find trained caregivers or a memory clinic close to home.
Who it hurts: Adult children and grandchildren in Mumbai and its suburbs looking after an older relative with dementia, often for the first time.
The moment it hurts: The weeks after diagnosis, when the family needs a trained carer, therapy sessions and advice, and the only dedicated government memory clinic may be across the city.
What people do today: Families ask agencies, friends and relatives; agencies often have no staff trained in dementia care, and regular therapy means repeated journeys across the city.
Why it is still unsolved: Memory clinics, day care, therapists and trained carers are run by different hospitals, NGOs and agencies, there is no public list by area, and Maharashtra's district memory clinic OPDs are not listed by location. Unlike palliative care, dementia care is long, continuing and mostly at home.
What solved looks like: A free directory for the Mumbai region, searchable by suburb, listing memory clinics, dementia day care, therapists and agencies with dementia-trained carers, with cost, languages and how to get a referral, plus a short guide for families in the first month after diagnosis.
Where: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions.
Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use.
Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
  1. Understand it

    Talk to the people who live it before you build.

    “Knowledge itself is power.”

    Ipsa scientia potestas est.

    Francis Bacon · Meditationes Sacrae (1597)
  2. Prototype with AI

    Get a working version in front of people fast.

    Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.

    “The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
    Ada Lovelace · Notes on Menabrea's Sketch of the Analytical Engine, Note A (1843)
  3. Find the data

    Open data that fits this problem.

    “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
    Richard Feynman · Cargo Cult Science, Caltech commencement address (1974)
  4. Build it

    Tools matched to what this problem needs.

    “Tasks are achieved by effort, not by wishing.”

    उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि न मनोरथैः

    udyamena hi sidhyanti kāryāṇi na manorathaiḥ

    Hitopadeśa · Introduction
  5. Launch and get support

    Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.

    “While we teach, we learn.”

    Homines dum docent discunt.

    Seneca · Letters to Lucilius 7.8

Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.