Ola Group contributes INR 50 Lakhs towards Karnataka Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to fight against COVID-19
Bengaluru, 16th April 2020: Ola Group, which operates Ola, India’s largest mobility platform, has joined hands with the Karnataka State Government in the fight against COVID-19 by pledging INR 50 lakhs to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF). The fund will be used to provide on-ground relief measures across the state of Karnataka in the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The Ola Group includes various business units including its ride-hailing arm, Ola Mobility, Ola Financial Services, Ola Foods and Ola Electric.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of Ola Group said, “The Ola Group extends its humble contribution to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to support the on-ground relief measures by the state in fighting this pandemic. Bengaluru has been home for us at Ola for the past 8 years since the time we set up our headquarters here. We are committed to standing by the Karnataka State Government in this fight against COVID-19 and salute the efforts put forth by frontline warriors, and law enforcement officials, which has helped in controlling the contagion in the state. We are also thankful to the Government for collaborating deeply on various citizen focused initiatives, allowing us to contribute in these times of distress.”
Ola recently launched ‘Ola Emergency’ on its app to enable essential medical trips on its platform in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Government of Karnataka. The new category will bring a much-needed mobility solution for many citizens who do not have a mode of transport to access a hospital in case of a medical emergency. ‘Ola Emergency’ will enable over 200 hospitals to provide the service and ensure cabs are used only for essential medical travel. After Bengaluru, the service was launched in Gurugram, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Nashik, Varanasi and is slated to be launched in more cities in the weeks ahead.
The Ola Group has also been working towards multiple initiatives to support the driver community, who have been one of the worst-hit during these stressed times. Ola Foundation, the social welfare arm of the company, had recently launched the ‘Drive the Driver Fund.’ The fund aims to support cab, auto-rickshaw, and kaali-peeli taxi drivers across the country, through contributions from the Ola Group and through a crowdfunding platform for citizens and institutions. The Ola Group and its employees have already contributed INR 20 crores towards this cause, while Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO, Ola has forgone his 1 year’s salary towards the fund. This long term contingency fund will help drivers and their families through and beyond this pandemic, through various initiatives including financial support for medical emergencies as well as essential supplies distribution in driver communities. The Ola Group has also contributed a sum of ₹5 crores to the PM CARES fund earlier this week.
About Ola
Ola is India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, serving 250+ cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK including key global markets like London and Sydney. The Ola app offers mobility solutions by connecting customers to drivers and a wide range of vehicles across bikes, auto-rickshaws, metered taxis, and cabs, enabling convenience and transparency for hundreds of millions of consumers and over 2.5 million driver-partners.
Ola’s core mobility offering in India is supplemented by its electric-vehicle arm, Ola Electric and Ola Fleet Technologies, India’s largest fleet management business. With its acquisition of Ridlr, India’s leading public transportation app and investment in Vogo, a dockless scooter sharing solution, Ola is looking to build mobility for the next billion Indians. Ola also extends its consumer offerings like micro-insurance and credit led payments through Ola Financial Services and a range of owned food brands with India’s largest network of cloud kitchens through Ola Foods.
Ola was founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati with a mission to build mobility for a billion people.
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