The gig economy has witnessed a significant growth in the past decade with the development of technology platforms and over 200 million people are considered part of the gig workforce globally. But as more and more freelancers move to freelance platforms, they face the huge challenge of winning clients by tirelessly sending proposals and getting entangled in bidding wars. The clients have their own woes to tell. Many a time, they are bombarded with unclear sales pitches and ambiguous quotes. There needs to be an able platform that could make the connect between freelancers and clients in a smooth manner.
KIWI, the Delhi-based global TaaS platform, solves exactly this challenge. It was incepted in 2020 by technopreneur Imran Ladiwala, Mishu Ahluwalia and Carl Abraham. KIWI is a one-of-a-kind TaaS platform that connects freelancers and clients within 180 seconds and creates a high-skilled on-demand talent network in the world.
“The startup assists people in getting their issues resolved in real-time, and freelancers get their money within 60 minutes. The gig economy is growing at a massive pace and COVID-19 has propelled that growth. With KIWI, clients hire a freelancer who is an expert in solving their exact issue, instantaneously. Lastly, freelancers would spend more time servicing skills than preparing sales pitches or proposals.”
– Imran Ladiwala, Co-founder and CEO
KIWI started as a simple platform in 2019 offering certain real-time skills and connecting freelancers and clients via email. After its launch in 2020, KIWI turned its email service into a complete platform that operates on a chrome extension points to power over 5000 freelancers. The startup expanded the freelancing platform to get more experts across multiple skill sets like WordPress, Shopify, Photoshop, Online Marketing and Video editing. KIWI also has remote teams in Mumbai, Delhi, Noida, Europe, and South America.
For clients, KIWI helps to get the best expert freelancer available to complete the task. The client can find an expert freelancer within 3 minutes, direct him/her to a Zoom call and get their requirements delivered at the end of the call. A KIWI expert would be available during the call. If the client is not satisfied with the service, he need not pay for it. For freelancers, it helps to generate wealth and send it over to them within 60 minutes. The startup has introduced a new product feature KIWI me, which enables freelancers to have more control over their earnings, find jobs and getting hired instantly.
Here is a list of accomplishments in KIWI’s journey so far:
- Over 15,000 Clients
- 0% Commission to Freelancers
- 12,000+ Jobs Completed in Oct ’20
- $1.7 Million+ Earned by Freelancers
- 83% Clients prefer KIWI over other platforms
KIWI has recently raised $2,50,000 in seed funding from PointOne Capital, Core91 VC, AppyHigh, and other angel investors. The startup intends to utilize the funds for product development and for creating an initial base of consumers and experts.
According to a report by BCG, the gig economy has the potential to serve up to 90 million jobs (roughly 30% of India’s non-farm workforce), add up to 1.25% to India’s GDP in the long-run, and create millions of new jobs across all sectors of India’s economy.
KIWI is operating on an early revenue stage. However, it is planning to target a monthly revenue of $2 million+ by the end of 2023, with annual revenue of $100 million in the next five years. KIWI’s journey of value-driven partnership is only going to tighten the connect between freelancers and clients in the long run.