In the bustling world of fueling up your vehicle, Nawgati, an innovative Indian app, wants to make the process smoother. Vaibhav Kaushik, a seasoned writer with a decade of experience in the field and the Co-founder and CEO of Nawgati, shares his insights into how the app aims to enhance your fueling experience.
For Kaushik and his co-founders Aalaap Nair and Aryan Sisodia, both alumni of BITS Pilani and VIT Vellore, the inspiration behind Nawgati came from a common problem: waiting in long queues at petrol pumps during peak hours. Their solution? A user-friendly app that provides real-time congestion updates, helping users locate less crowded stations nearby and minimizing wait times.
Kaushik's journey with Nawgati started during his third year of engineering at BITS Pilani when he observed the frustration of cab drivers dealing with crowded petrol pumps. This sparked the idea of creating a solution to inform people about the congestion at gas stations, ultimately saving valuable time.
Initially incubated on the BITS Pilani campus, Nawgati received crucial funding from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's TIED 2.0 grant. This financial support enabled Nawgati to evolve from a concept to a Minimum Viable Product, with the funds used to deploy necessary hardware at fuel stations.
Nawgati's technology stands out with its computer vision algorithms and real-time data collection from fuel stations. This allows the app to calculate expected waiting times at a fuel station for each dispenser island and vehicle category. Unlike mainstream navigation apps, Nawgati provides detailed information about the conditions at fuel stations.
The startup caters to both fuel station operators and regular users. Aaveg, their flagship product, offers congestion monitoring and routing systems for fuel stations, charging a subscription fee for valuable insights. Additionally, Nawgati plans to generate revenue through a congestion data API for fleet operators.
Available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app currently lists over 80,000 fuel pumps, boasting more than 1.5 million downloads and 2.5 lakh monthly active users. To enhance user experience, Kaushik actively relies on crowdsourcing, encouraging users to suggest new stations or report missing amenities.
Nawgati has established collaborations with major oil and gas companies in India. Their success was demonstrated through a pilot project with Indraprastha Gas Ltd in Delhi, leading to additional outlets and a full-fledged order.
Despite being a newcomer, Nawgati envisions scaling up across the country. The team is working towards integrating the app into car dashboards and exploring partnerships with leading auto manufacturers. Kaushik dreams of adding features like car insurance details and CNG cylinder testing information to further empower the app.
Backed by the Department of Science and Technology, MapMyIndia, and the Ministry of Information and Technology, Nawgati has garnered support from notable angel investors. Kaushik, reflecting on his journey, chose autonomy over a tempting offer from PayPal, and today, he takes pride in offering the same compensation to his dedicated team.
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