Startup Mantra: Pune-based Eco BioTraps helps eliminate mosquito breeding cycle
Eco BioTraps was born – a for-profit social enterprise wielding science, not swatters, to break the mosquito breeding cycle and shield communities from deadly diseases, says Prasad Phadke
While masks and vaccines helped us weather the storm of Covid-19, vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria pose an even greater threat. Surprisingly, we still lack vaccines for these killers. Traditional methods like mosquito traps, repellents, and swatters offer limited solutions, merely swatting at the problem instead of addressing its root. Enter Eco BioTraps, a Pune-based social enterprise spearheaded by Prasad Phadke. This for-profit venture presents a game-changer: simple, biodegradable traps that disrupt the mosquito breeding cycle.
“Science tells us only female mosquitoes bite, their lifespan is only 15 to 30 days, they breed only in water and not on shrubs or ground; and in this short lifespan, they lay anywhere between 500 to 1000 eggs. Which means next time a mosquito has bitten you, she has sucked the blood out of you and your blood has created 3 crore mosquitoes in one month,” says Phadke.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) report on the dengue global situation of December 21, 2023, states that since the beginning of 2023, ongoing transmission, combined with an unexpected spike in dengue cases have resulted in close to a historic high of over 50 lakh cases and more than 5000 dengue-related deaths reported in over 80 countries or territories from Africa, Americas, South-East Asia, Western Pacific, and Eastern Mediterranean regions globally. Dengue transmission is cyclic and large outbreaks every 3-4 years can be expected. But the Covid-19 pandemic taught us that to arrest a force multiplier you must break the chain. We have managed to develop a solution to break this chain using our patented waterproofing technology along with efficient delivery of proprietary solutions. Eco BioTraps eliminates the female mosquito and 100 per cent of her larvae,” stated Phadke.
First step
Son of an army officer, Phadke has proved to be a born salesperson. It was his uncle who tasted him the ‘blood of entrepreneurship’ at the tender age of 16, by taking him along on his business trips and meetings. After his senior college, Prasad completed his production engineering at Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune.
“My first experience of entrepreneurship came through a friend’s FMCG contract work. No salaries, just commissions earned by selling goods like shirts, detergent, etc door-to-door. It was brutal – four days of rejections before my first sale. But the thrill of earning on my own hustle, even just enough to meet my petrol expenses, ignited my business spirit. It taught me resilience and honed my sales skills, leading to my first official job and paving the way for my entrepreneurial journey. After cutting my teeth on B2C, I stumbled upon a life-changing opportunity which opened the door to the world of B2B sales. I traded dusty streets for corporate phone lines and fax machines,” recalls Phadke.
Leap of faith
Phadke entered the corporate world with ambition and charm, and with more than 20 years of leadership experience and a strong track record of building global brands such as 3Dlabs, Autodesk, NVIDIA and Hewlett Packard in South Asia and the Americas, he built lifelong relationships with mercurial and powerful leaders, created unique experiences for brands and scaled successful businesses in technology, hardware, and software. “After two decades of scaling corporate ladders and dodging ‘under-the-bus acrobatics,’ I was yearning for a mission beyond the circus ring. While I was spending my time in the US, I got to meet Silicon Valley veteran Ash Munshi. He used to send me as his nominee to a bunch of startups and that is where I experienced the third level of my entrepreneurial life. I was restless but did not do anything for more than two years. That is when Munshi said let us start a company together as cofounders and a shared vision. Sustainability is our north star, solving problems with lasting impact. I knew it was time for a leap of faith,” said Phadke.
Mosquito problem
Says Phadke, “Soon we got an opportunity from Whole Foods who were looking for sustainable tableware, cutlery, plate, etc. We had a couple of scientists on board and we also found out that some India-based company was making plates from Areca leaf. We got a million-dollar contract from Whole Foods and went to celebrate California-style at a restaurant.”
At the restaurant, the mosquitoes around disrupted their discussions. As city lights flickered outside, the duo lamented the irony: while humanity dreamt of moon bases and AI miracles, diseases like dengue and malaria, carried on silent wings, still stole millions of lives each year. “The buzzing truth hit like a mosquito bite - the problem was not just bad; it was the worst. With deepening research, we discovered that mosquitoes, those seemingly harmless insects, had claimed more lives than all wars combined. The deadliest predator on Earth, responsible for countless deaths, has been plaguing us for over a century since malaria’s discovery. But the current approach of killing adult mosquitoes and repelling them felt like a temporary fix, a mere shift in the problem. We were treating the symptoms, not the disease. And we realised we must solve this real challenge,” said Prasad.
Eco-friendly solution
Prasad says, “While designing the solution, we discovered that recycled cardboard or corrugated boxes can used as the material to create the trap. The sachet glued to the base of this box has two elements – the ‘Attractant’ to lure the mosquito to breed and the ‘Cidal Ingredient’ or killing ingredient which is government-approved IGR and which ensures that no adults emerge out. The water inside starts to leak out and the box biodegrades within a month. This eco-friendly design could safeguard 400 square feet area for a month.”
“We imagined designing a trap that acts like an irresistible breeding ground for female mosquitoes. It would be far more enticing than their usual spots, drawing them away from potentially harmful environments. Within this controlled space, we could effectively disrupt their egg-laying process, preventing the next generation of mosquitos from flourishing. This targeted approach would potentially break the entire reproduction cycle, significantly reducing the overall population over time. Eco BioTraps was born – a for-profit social enterprise wielding science, not swatters, to break the mosquito breeding cycle and shield communities from deadly diseases,” stated Prasad.
Go-to-market
Once the product was ready, it needed to generate evidence and get validated in the most difficult terrains like Dharavi, says Phadke. “Eco BioTraps is the only device which can ‘scientifically’ guarantee a dengue mosquito-free zone because it flies 200 meters which is neither short or not too big. If you have a bunch of our BioTraps installed, then after three months, there will be no dengue breeding incidents in that area. Our product is currently catered heavily through B2B channels. We got Pest Control India, the pest management company which is present in 22 states, across 2000 locations, to take our product and distribute it in hotels, hospitals, offices, etc,” adds Phadke.
“At present, our biggest market is B2B followed by B2G and B2-CSR. Companies like Zoho in Chennai, State Bank of India, and several defence establishments use our product. In future, the biggest market would be B2C. We are developing a different version of Eco BioTraps for B2C use as our laser focus is on dengue, malaria, and other mosquito-borne diseases.”
Way ahead
Phadke says, “Eco BioTraps are also poised to revolutionize public health with integrated IoT chips for disease surveillance. Recently, a dengue outbreak was reported in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation area, threatening to escalate from 40 cases to 200. Eco BioTraps were deployed there and within a month, the number plummeted to just 2. With patent protection in 50 countries and a licensing option, Eco BioTraps are ready to scale nationwide, transforming public health one mosquito at a time.”
“Next year we will be expanding to 5 countries including Malaysia, Nepal, and China. In 2026 we will be expanding to more than 10 countries. We would want to list the company on the BSE SME platform or the Social Stock Exchange by the end of 2025-26,” he said.
