Big bets on gig economy now

Post-Covid Wave of Jobs

- Quess Corp in Jan 2021 picked up 49% in Taskmo, a gig economy startup

- Recently, Flipkart-backed PhonePe acquired GigIndia

- Indian gig economy has potential to serve up to 90 mn jobs in the non-farm sectors

Bengaluru: Big investments bets are being made on the gig job providers as the gig economy in India starts to expand in recent years. According to startups operating in this space, large players are sensing opportunity in gig economy space as more workers from tier-II & tier-III cities participate in the

job market. Moreover, increasing participation of women is another driving factor behind this phenomenon.

"Many large players are bullish in the gig economy space as more workers look to participate in the job market through our platforms. We expect this sector to grow exponentially in the coming years. Factors like willingness of businesses to hire freelancers, increasing participation of workers from tier-II & tier-III cities and more women with skills preferring this route are driving this trend," said Prashant Janadri, cofounder, Taskmo told Bizz Buzz.

In January last year, India's largest private sector employer Quess Corp had picked up 49 per cent stake in Taskmo, which is a gig economy startup providing freelance work to grey workers.

After Quess Corp, the space has recently seen entry of Flipkart-backed fintech major PhonePe.

PhonePe has acquired GigIndia, a marketplace for gig workers, in its bid to strengthen its offerings for corporate and enterprise partners, the company said this week.

GigIndia, one of the largest market places for gig workers, counts 1.5 million entrepreneurs and over 100 enterprises as its customers. Post this acquisition, GigIndia will be integrated with PhonePe as part of the deal.

In March 2021, Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) published a study 'Unlocking the Potential of the Gig Economy in India' which said the Indian gig economy has the potential to serve up to 90 million jobs in the non-farm sectors of India (around 30 per cent) with the potential to add up to 1.25 per cent to India's GDP through efficiency and productivity gains alone.

Interestingly, the affinity for freelance jobs is not limited to grey or blue collar workers, but also professional job sector like IT services has also seen rising use of part time workers for specific job assignments. Platforms like Topcoder, Hackerearth, Codility, Experfy and many more are providing freelance jobs to software professionals.

According to HR experts, post-Covid pandemic, employees are looking at alternate options of work due to layoffs, stressful work environment and reorientation of goals. That is the reason that the world has seen a spate of resignations from workers, termed as 'Great Resignation'. Against this backdrop, the gig economy in India is set to rise in the coming years, they opined.

We expect this sector to grow exponentially in the coming years. Factors like willingness of businesses to hire freelancers, increasing participation of workers from tier-II & tier-III cities and more women with skills preferring this route are driving this trend

-Prashant Janadri, Cofounder, Taskmo