Turning job loss into opportunity: Ex-staff of CorroHealth to launch cooperative venture in Keralam

Employees of the U.S.-based CorroHealth Infotech Private Limited who were terminated without prior notice waiting at the entrance of the company office in Kochi on July 7, 2026. | Photo Credit: H. VIBHU

In a bid to turn job losses into an opportunity for collective enterprise, former employees of the Kochi-based CorroHealth plan to launch a health-care IT and medical coding cooperative venture.

The proposed ‘Health Care IT & Revenue Cycle Co-operative Society’ has applied for registration as a primary cooperative society and sought the Cooperation department’s support in expediting the process.

The promoters met Cooperation Minister M. Liju in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday and submitted the project report. They said the Minister responded positively to the proposal.

A sustainable alternative

More than 800 professionals reportedly lost their jobs when CorroHealth shut its operations earlier this year. With many still seeking employment, Jijy Philip, founder and CEO of UACC, a Kochi-based cooperative consultancy, met stakeholders and affected employees to explore a sustainable alternative to short-term relief.

Professionals from across Keralam subsequently joined an online meeting to discuss the proposal. Twenty-six professionals signed up as founding members.

Preliminary discussions have begun on securing subcontracting assignments in health-care IT and revenue cycle management.

The proposed venture seeks to establish a technology enterprise owned and operated by the professionals who work in it. Members will collectively own the cooperative, undertake technology and service assignments, and create employment opportunities for themselves. The model is intended to extend beyond the conventional activities of credit and thrift cooperatives, applying the cooperative principle of collective ownership to health-care IT, medical coding, billing and related services.

Indian Coffee House model

The initiative draws inspiration from the history of Indian Coffee House. In the 1950s, following the decision to close Coffee Board-run coffee houses, affected workers organised themselves into cooperatives and took over their operations. Keralam’s first Indian Coffee House outlet opened in Thalassery in 1958, and the workers’ societies were federated in 1960. The institution continues to operate under the cooperative model, making it a prominent example of workers coming together to sustain an enterprise.

“The coffee house workers had a counter and a kettle. Today’s technology professionals have laptops and specialised skills. What they need is the right organisational structure, and Kerala’s cooperative tradition offers a way to build one,” says Jijy Philip.

The promoters see the proposed society as the beginning of a broader initiative that could eventually create opportunities for fresh graduates, women returning to the workforce, and skilled professionals in smaller towns.

Published - October 29, 2026 08:51 pm IST