From Nagaland to Nationwide: A Startup’s Journey to Support Wheelchair Users

July 15, 2025

Two boys work together on a small bike in a cluttered room, using tools and a phone.

In this first-person blog, Duplikhum Langtithonger, co-founder of Zeliang Codetech, shares how a deep-tech startup from Dimapur, Nagaland, is building inclusive mobility solutions for persons with disabilities. Their innovation was among the winners of Youth Co:Lab National Innovation Challenge 2024-25, co-led by UNDP and Citi Foundation, in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and implemented by AssisTech Foundation. The startup aims to transform lives, one wheelchair at a time.

Starting Up in Dimapur & Why We Innovate

At home in Dimapur, Nagaland, I often asked myself - can an idea from here make a difference across India? I’m Duplikhum Langtithonger. Along with my co-founders Kangzang Zeliang & Zaiyigum Zeliang, we started Zeliang Codetech in a modest setup, surrounded by wires, laptops, and plenty of trial and error. We want to use technology to solve real problems, especially for people who are often left out. We are guided by one question: how can this improve someone’s life? That question shapes every prototype we build. Nagaland may not have a large startup ecosystem, but we have determination, creativity, and a deep connection to our community’s needs.

The Birth of Zeliang Codetech & ZOULES: Empowering Movement from the Hills

Zeliang Codetech was born during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021 and officially incorporated on June 10, 2022. It began as a passion project between Kangzang Zeliang and his then 9-year-old son, Zaiyigum, who started tinkering with code and electronics during the isolation of lockdown.

What began as a father-son experiment soon became a structured startup with a team of designers, coders, and engineers. With Victor Chang and Mangyangtemba Longkumer leading on R&D and electronics, the team developed ZOULES—a compact, motorized add-on that turns a regular wheelchair into an electric-powered one. Simple, modular, and built for rough terrain, ZOULES is designed to ease daily mobility challenges of wheelchair users, especially where smooth roads are rare.

A person using a power tool to cut metal, sparks flying, in a workshop setting.

ZOULES is currently in the prototype stage and is already being used by a few residents in Dimapur, including a delivery worker, a young entrepreneur, and a vegetable vendor. The feedback has been encouraging, both locally and from stakeholders in India and at the ViennaUP Startup Festival 2025 in Austria, where it was recently showcased.

One of our earliest users, a vegetable seller, used to struggle daily to push his manual wheelchair through dusty roads to reach the market. After trying our prototype, he shared, “This has made a lot of difference. Now I feel I can move freely on my own, go to work, or visit friends without help.”

The impact is growing, and it motivates us to keep going. We have secured seed funding and are working with local partners to improve the product, with plans for wider testing, deployment, and ultimately greater mobility and dignity for users across the region.

A hybrid wheelchair with two large wheels and a bicycle-like front, set on a tiled floor.

Winning Youth Co:Lab: Recognition with impact

In early 2024, we applied to the Youth Co:Lab National Innovation Challenge 2024-25, co-led by UNDP and Citi Foundation, in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and implemented by AssisTech Foundation. We were not sure how far we would go because there was fierce competition. But we had something powerful - a clear purpose to bridge the gap between disability and opportunity.

To our immense joy, we won. And the win was not just about the trophy or the seed grant, it opened doors to mentorship, collaborations and a national spotlight. It showed that a spark from Nagaland can light up conversations across India.

A man in a blue suit speaks confidently at a podium during a youth innovation challenge event.

What Lies Ahead

Recognition is wonderful. But what excites us more is what we can build next. Currently, we are working on three upgraded ZOULES units. Each version is being imagined with a specific user in mind-urban mobility for someone navigating a crowded market, someone vending on the street, someone commuting to work. We’re testing, tweaking, and learning. Real users give us feedback, and that helps us refine every screw and circuit.

We are also exploring ways to make ZOULES more affordable by tapping into the Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) scheme, which provides government support for assistive devices, and by partnering with companies through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to help subsidize the cost for those who need it most.

A Message to Fellow Changemakers

You don’t need to be in a tech hub. Your village or town holds potential. Use what you have, start where you are, and believe that ideas with purpose will be heard. Resilience, patience, and purpose are what keep me going.

Lighting the Path Forward

From a small home in Dimapur to the national stage, our journey with ZOULES proves that innovation rooted in empathy can transcend boundaries. It shows that solutions don’t have to come from the center. They can come from places people don’t always look, from voices people don’t always hear.

This is more than a startup story. It is a movement, one that invites changemakers, supporters, manufacturers, and policymakers to join us. Together, we can build a future where independence and inclusion are not distant dreams, but everyday realities for all.

Let’s make movement easier, together.

A large group of students and adults posing together on outdoor stairs, smiling.

About Youth Co:Lab:

Co-created in 2017 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Citi Foundation, Youth Co:Lab aims to establish a common agenda for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to empower and invest in youth so that they can accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation, and entrepreneurship. In India, Youth Co: Lab was launched in 2019 in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. As of 2025, Youth Co:Lab has conducted seven national theme-specific youth social innovation and entrepreneurship challenges in India through this collaboration and supported over 280 youth-led ventures. This includes several forms of engagements, such as panel discussions, workshops, dialogues, and webinars. Youth Co: Lab also supports social entrepreneurs through an incubation programme, with selected entrepreneurs representing India at the annual regional Youth Co:Lab Summit.