Mental health remains one of the most invisible and underserved challenges in India, especially for adolescent girls. In a country where stigma is widespread and fewer than 1 trained mental health professional is available per 100,000 people, early intervention is often a distant reality. The barriers are not only socio-cultural but also structural, with limited access to care, predominantly English-language tools and a lack of scalable solutions.

In 2022, ACT For Health partnered with Wysa to explore whether technology could help bridge this critical gap. Our capital catalyzed Wysa, a globally recognized AI-based mental health chatbot, to adapt to Hindi and piloted across underserved communities including adolescent girls, women and blue-collar workers. The goal was to test through pilots whether tech-first solutions could offer meaningful emotional support to those excluded from traditional systems of care.

The results were compelling. Through strategic partnerships, Wysa’s Hindi application reached over 6,000 users across Bharat, many of whom were accessing mental health support for the first time. The users reported improved emotional well-being and high satisfaction, with a strong percentage returning to use the tool multiple times. The team learned that framing the offering around ‘resilience’ and ‘life skills’ worked better than a clinical lens, leading to a rebrand as Vyasa – Mann ka coach jo badle soch, a refreshed app experience and support for Indian languages beyond Hindi (e.g. Marathi). The pilot also unlocked a promising B2G pathway and validated a hybrid model, combining in-person onboarding with digital engagement, as key to driving adoption.

With promising proof points and a strong, mission-driven founding team committed to building for Bharat, ACT is backing Wysa’s next phase of growth: a scaled pilot reaching 20,000 adolescent girls across Maharashtra through partnerships with the state government and community-based organizations. This phase is not just about scaling usage but about demonstrating that timely, relevant and culturally rooted mental health care can be effectively delivered within public systems. In addition to funding, ACT will support Wysa on product development, implementation strategy and strengthening the ecosystem needed to build trust among users and public health stakeholders. 

This partnership aims to change how mental health support is perceived and delivered across India. By combining the power of localized technology with institutional partnerships, Wysa and ACT are working to ensure that every adolescent girl in Bharat has access to the care she needs when she needs it and in a way that feels safe and accessible. Together, we are taking steps toward a future where mental health is no longer a privilege, but a right for all!