What’s the gig? Inside India’s emerging gig economy and where it’s headed

The gig economy has been receiving an overwhelming amount of traction in India, especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report by ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India), the size of the gig sector in India is expected to increase to $455 billion at a CAGR of 17 percent by 2024.

To talk about the emerging phenomenon and the evolving gig market in India, Vineet Arya, Founder of, COHIRE, and Dheeraj Khatter, Co-founder and Director, MyMobiForce, joined YourStory’s Daily Dispatch for an insightful panel discussion.

Speaking about the booming demand in the gig sector, Dheeraj says several sectors have undergone a transformation in mindset and India as a market has become ready for the gig economy, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The supply side was ready in advance but the demand is getting more mature because corporates have also started thinking in that direction. ‘Gig’ is now a mainstream model,” he says.

ALSO READ

India’s kidswear, babycare segments are changing: These entrepreneurs tell you how

Vineet adds that it [gigs] is one of the only industries where both demand and supply are booming. According to him, sectors seeing the most traction are — the hospitality sector, service sector, healthcare sector, etc. “As and when manufacturing in India will grow and the startup ecosystem will evolve, the demand for gigs will grow,” he says.

Dheeraj shares that MyMobiForce is primarily associated with the service sector, which is witnessing tremendous growth. This, in turn, is increasing the need for gig workers for on-demand field services. Additionally, the at-home revolution has also increased the need for on-ground skilled workers.

“The service industry started with an in-housing concept where everybody used to have people on their payroll and then they started with the outsourcing concept, and now, the new buzz is crowdsourcing,” he says.

While talking about COHIRE’s focus on C-level professionals, Vineet shares that when he started with his concept for the startup, he wanted to take a top-down approach. His idea centred on starting a business in the gig economy but with a focus on C-level professionals, which stemmed from his own experience of getting offered to work for companies. He adds that the pandemic has given a push to their business by bringing remote working into the picture.

In terms of future roadmaps, Dheeraj says MyMobiForce has 50,000 service professionals registered on its platform at present, and the company aims to increase that to up to two lakh in the next two years. It focuses on three verticals — home appliances, telecom, and networking.

Going forward, the startup plans to focus on upcoming verticals such as electric vehicles (EVs) or drones. Apart from that, even though the company’s current focus is on India, it has started to notice some traction in the global markets as well.

Lastly, Vineet mentions that COHIRE’s average tenure of engagement with any company has increased to eight months. Apart from that, it also intends to encourage women professionals as there has been a huge amount of interest from women in corporates. This year, COHIRE also has plans to focus on the larger Southeast Asian markets as well.