Blackfrog Technologies

Vaccine Cold Chain Technology for last mile delivery of vaccines

CURRENT IMPACT

As on Feb 2023

216

Emvolio deployed across 5 states (to various PHCs and CHCs across Karnataka, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu states.)

160

Health professionals trained on vaccination-related topics.

Geographical Focus
  • PAN India
Potential Impact

  • 250

    Kits to be distributed

Samridh support

SAMRIDH, through a blended financing structure that combines credit enhancement instruments such as partial risk guarantee/ bank guarantee, returnable grant and interest subvention, is enabling Blackfrog Technologies to meet its funding requirements to manufacture ~250 units of Emvólio – a portable medical-grade refrigerator designed to deploy vaccines under controlled temperatures. The partial risk guarantee has enabled Blackfrog Technologies to avail a working capital loan from a financial institution at an interest subvention. SAMRIDH is bearing a portion of the interest cost that will be returned upon achievement of targeted social outcomes. With SAMRIDH’s support, Blackfrog Technologies is expected to generate sufficient cash from its operations to achieve sustainability, upon settling the financial obligations.

African Presence

Blackfrog is a ISO 13485 & ISO 9001 certified Manufacturer of Medical devices which had developed Emvolio – A portable active-cooled refrigerator that maintains a stable 2-8 Deg C platform for 12+ hours for the last mile transport of Vaccines. Blackfrog has deployed in 11+ states in India and is now expanding into Africa starting with Kenya. Emvolio will ensure a stable cold chain of 2-8 Deg C during the last mile transport of vaccines is maintained which is critical for the effectiveness/efficacy of Vaccines. Most vaccines lose effectiveness/efficacy due to poor cold chain solutions which are not able to maintain the 2-8 Deg C platform. This would be a big step towards eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases and eliminating vaccine wastage. Emvolio can be used in dispensaries and for outreach sessions for routine immunization. The devices are solar compatible, hence can be easily integrated with the existing setup/infrastructure. The devices provide real-time alerts and tracking of the assets via the cloud to health officials for better accountability. The units will be deployed in four counties in their respective public health systems namely Isiolo, Samburu and the other two counties are being finalized. Letter of Intent received from the two counties.

9
out of
15

vaccines commonly administered today are freeze sensitive[1]

25
%

of vaccines in India wasted due to suboptimal cold chain practices[2]

$
7.5
million

of cost wastage is attributed to ice-based cold chain system in rural India[3]

The devastating second wave of COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for mass vaccine administration to break the chain of virus transmission. However, India’s inadequate cold chain infrastructure is a key impediment to achieve the national goal of universal vaccine coverage. Given the COVID-19 vaccines are temperature sensitive, a high percentage of them lose their efficacy by the time they are administered, due to lack of proper supply chain and logistics management system. This poses a challenge particularly for a country, like India, that has a widely dispersed population.

Emvolio

Blackfrog Technologies has developed Emvólio, a portable medical-grade refrigerator, designed to deploy vaccines under controlled temperatures for up to 12 hours. A single Emvólio device can carry 30-50 vials of vaccines, making it possible to administer up to 300-500 doses of life-saving vaccinations.

SAMRIDH support is enabling Blackfrog to expand their manufacturing capacity. So far, supplied 200+ units across india and confirmed an order book of 200+ units from Selco Foundation, Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI), and others. They have also commenced modification of the manufacturing facility as per ISO 13485 requirements to enhance the production capacity.