Dial 1298 for Ambulance: Marketing EMS in Mumbai

In 2002, five social entrepreneurs launched Ziqitza Healthcare, a for-profit company based in Mumbai, with the goal of providing accessible, high-quality emergency medical care. The initiative, which became known as Dial 1298 for Ambulance, gained support and a $1.5 million investment from the Acumen Fund. Though 1298 expanded rapidly, it needed a sharper marketing strategy, and in particular, a way of increasing its usage rate among the poorest residents of Mumbai. In this case, students take the perspective of Jane Harmon, a one-year Acumen Fund marketing fellow placed with 1298, who has been asked to develop a strategy for how to improve the service's usage rate within this targeted demographic.