Artoo is a company that is highly empathetic. It works tirelessly towards improving the lives of field officers. Microfinance institutions serve borrowers with unmet financial needs. These institutions rely on field officers who visit these borrowers at a place convenient to the latter (which is either their house or the place of work). Field officers faced a nightmare managing all the paper work for these institutions. Artoo introduced an intelligent digital paperless solution for these field officers, who now call Artoo a hero to them.
For its users, Artoo has come off as someone who is strong, young, enthusiastic, and energetic. But at a personal level, Artoo reminds me of Ikeuchi Aya. In the Japanese series of “One litre of tears”, Ikeuchi Aya is an ailing protagonist. Despite her ailment, her priority was always “Human Relationships” and its importance in a person’s life. When life brought her down to her knees, it was her family and friends who kept her going. Artoo is this family and friends. Its innovative idea of converting all paperwork into software made this an error- and hassle-free process for the field agents.
At Artoo, I read a bunch of articles. These articles are the reason why I could argue about the financial sector with my sister. I am a huge fan of informative articles, and this task was eventful and exciting. We had a little chat with Sameer and he shared with us the intent of the company and how the whole idea of building software for the field officers struck him.
What keeps the company going? I’d say Sameer’s humour. But not to forget all the team mates who believe in Artoo’s vision and work tirelessly to achieve it. This company is indeed very motivated. The best thing about Artoo is its optimism. Sameer is the best person when it comes to talking about failures that Artoo faced. He puts it across in a very distinct manner that they consider these failures as opportunities. It is a very energetic company. My mind is convinced that they derive such immense energy from ice-creams, late night pakodas, and chai.
By the second day, all of us felt very comfortable; for example, if a chair is proving to a torture to your spine, you can always jump onto the bean bag at this office. Artoo has managed to strike the right balance between official and casual atmosphere. And Artoo’s intent is very clear. They look after the comforts of a field officer like a host to a guest.
Artoo has a mobile- and web-based platform. Aparna, one of the engineers who works on the mobile platform, gave us an insight as to how the app works for the field agents. She took us through on the app and told us how it was designed. We also spoke about our plans for the future. Her story was very inspiring to me.
Overall, my experience at Artoo has been incredibly insightful. From the field visits to holding conversations with the team mates, everything has taught me that as Artoo grows, their moral aspect grows with them. From my field visit, I understood that small-scale vendors are always open to sharing their struggles with smiling faces. It is because of Artoo that I got an insight into the lives of people with whom I hardly spoke to. The company has some very deep values, and I hope they remain rooted as they grow.
About the Author
Meghana Vidyadhar | Class XII, the Valley School
Meghana was a summer intern at Artoo in 2017. A student of the Valley school, she aspires to be an aeronautical engineer. She is passionate about everything Space and wants to pursue a career in this field. In her free time, she enjoys being a Hip-Hop dancer and reading magazines.
