Inclusion Unfolds : Story of Buddy Up Network
Anmol SahuWelcome to another edition of Inclusion Unfolds!
(Image description: Buddy Up logo : “Illustration showing five joyful, diverse human figures in different colours, including one person using a wheelchair, jumping and celebrating above the bold text ‘BUDDY UP’, symbolising friendship, inclusion, and collective support.)
In this edition, we shed light on Buddy Up Network, a platform creating safe, supportive spaces for persons with disabilities and their caregivers to find friends, companions, and even life partners.
Story begins with two neurodivergent young adults, Vir and Mihaan. They met at a time when making friends wasn’t easy for either of them. Yet, without effort or expectation, they found comfort in each other’s company. No big moment. Just two children who felt understood, who enjoyed being around each other, and who didn’t have to explain themselves.
(Image description: Four people stand close together with their arms around each other, smiling at the camera. From left to right are Moneisha, Mihaan, Vir, and Gopika. They are dressed in colourful traditional Indian attire and stand against a dark wooden wall decorated with vertical marigold garlands, indicating a festive or celebratory setting.)
Their mothers, Gopika Kapoor and Moneisha Gandhi, watched this quiet friendship unfold. And once they saw how naturally it happened, they also began noticing how rare such moments were.
Around them, other parents kept sharing versions of the same story: “My child doesn’t have friends.” “He doesn’t know whom to call.”
These words were repeated so often that they revealed something bigger. This wasn’t one family’s struggle. It was a gap felt across homes, cities, and communities.
And that stayed with the founders – Moneisha Gandhi and Gopika Kapoor.
(Image description: Moniesha (left) and Gopika (right) sit side by side by a lakeside, smiling and wearing Buddy Up Network T-shirts with greenery in the background.)
Where the Idea Began
Before Buddy Up took shape, they tried a small experiment: a Facebook group.
The intention was right, but the process was bit complicated. To ensure safety, they added multiple verification steps. It made joining the group difficult. Parents found it confusing. And slowly, a realisation became clear. If finding a friend is already hard, the platform should not make it harder.
Rather than forcing the group to work, they stepped back and returned to the idea that had been quietly growing in the background, a dedicated space built specifically for people with disabilities, where connection felt easy and safe.
And so, in late September 2024, Buddy Up App was launched, where Persons with Disabilities can find friends, or life partners who match their interest. In the App, they can select their interest, whether they are looking for friends, or life partner or both and participate in community chat to learn from each other. During the earlier days of the App, it was only for friendship. But later the team added feature of finding life partners.
Unexpected response.
The beginning was small, but the response was much bigger than they imagined.
Today, Buddy Up has:
• 50,000+ downloads
• 7,000+ signups
• 5,000+ chats exchanged
• A consistent community that returns every month
Numbers may seem simple, but they signal something deep:
People with disabilities have always needed safe spaces to connect, they just rarely had access to one.
How they ensure safety
From day one, the founders knew they were building something for a vulnerable audience. For them, safety wasn’t a feature to add later, it was the base on which everything rested.
Buddy Up includes:
• OTP verification
• Two-step authentication
• A video call option so users can understand who they’re interacting with
• A soon-to-launch warning system that alerts users before they share their phone number.
They are clear that trust is essential for connection, and safety builds that trust.
Future Plans:
The founders noticed early was how uneven access to support is.
In large cities, families may still find groups, events, or therapy centres. But in tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 towns, opportunities are limited or entirely missing.
Many people with disabilities in smaller towns grow up without a single peer who truly understands their world.
Buddy Up wants to change that. Their next goal is to reach the places where support is scarce but the need is highest. Because friendship should not be restricted to metros. Every person with disability, regardless of where they live, deserves a chance to have a friend.
They are also working to increase the engagement of the users in their platform.
For persons with disabilities, access to education, jobs, or infrastructure is important, but another very important topic is friendship which is rarely talked about.
At inclusion unfolds, we celebrate buddy up because it is redefining the digital social space for persons with disabilities, by allowing them to build meaningful connections in a safe, accessible, space.
To download their App, Click Here
Visit their Website: Click Here
We’ll be Back with another story of inclusion!
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( Image : Multifly logo : It displays the word ‘Multifly’ in a hand-drawn style font. The letters ‘U’ and ‘I’ are highlighted in maroon, while the rest are black. Birds flying above the logo reinforce the message ‘U and I fly together’, representing inclusion, partnership, and shared growth.)