Dear Friends,
Globally, people above 65 years old are the fastest-growing segments of the population. In 2019, for the first time in human history, they outnumbered children younger than 5 years old (Nature , 2021). Fertility rates are near or below the 2.1 replacement level in all regions. On top of this burden, there is a surge in the number of nuclear families and single-person households! According to data from Kantar, nearly 50 percent of all households in India are nuclear (1-4 members). I am sure that outside India, this number would be much higher!
This phenomenon is nothing but the water under the mat!! By 2030, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. At this time, the share of the population aged 60 years and over will increase from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion—equivalent to the size of India!!
Today, 28% of the Japanese population is over 65 years of age. By 2039, this figure is expected to reach 40%. This means that pensioners will account for nearly half of the country’s population. South Korea's birth rate has dropped to 0.72, the lowest in the world.
There is no easy solution to simultaneously solve the fertility crisis, aging crisis, and family support crisis. In fact, everyone is missing another bigger crisis: the late fertility crisis.
Consider this hypothetical situation—I am 70 years old. I am retired and living on a few funds created over a period of time. I have a daughter aged 25 years old. She wants to marry at the age of 30 or 35. By that time, I will be 75 years old. I am diabetic, have a few chronic diseases, and need assistance. As newlyweds, it is not practically feasible for them to give support to aging parents. They are in a fluid state with all their career planning and lifestyle choices, and they want to live independently. My funds are currently managed by people with short-term thinking, and returns are unpredictable, which adds to my anxiety. My life expectancy is increasing due to life-saving medicines, but my quality of life is decreasing due to constant health issues, social anxiety, and depression.
This situation is alarming! However, Young startups can innovatively design AgeTech Solutions. Geriatric services are going to become a huge market if someone ventures into it. National Pension Schemes should be more responsible. If they are giving an average return of 8%, and inflation goes to 6% on average, with only 2% income left, how do we lead our lives?
When a startup designs a solution, it needs to consider all socio-economic, health, environmental, legal, cultural, and technical aspects in one go and design a Unified Solution- They should take care of my bed and food together without my involvement. This is the kind of complexity & opportunity involved in this domain!!
A Grand Granny Challenge for Future Geriatricpreneurs!!!
Ravi Saripalle
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