Pakistan startup gets funding to Uber-ize blue collar workers

Photo credit: frankieleon

Pakistan-based Sukoon, an on-demand marketplace for contractual laborers, announced today that it has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding led by Crescent Ventures. The TIE Islamabad Angel fund and Dotzero Ventures also participated in the round. While specific financial details were not revealed, the startup did say that the investors have acquired a non-controlling, minority stake in the company.

Sukoon, which launched in 2015, is trying to bring transparency to the unregulated informal labor market in Pakistan. The startup conducts background checks and assesses technical skills of workers such as masons, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians before adding them to its database. Users can then book their services through the portal, with estimated project cost and timeline provided in advance.

A community review system also ensures that workers are rated according to their proficiency. Two recurring complaints would likely result in the worker being removed from the database altogether.

But the startup’s model isn’t skewed heavily towards the consumer side alone. It’s also helping workers by paying them a fair wage and giving them access to a far bigger pool of clients. Otherwise, such workers mainly ply their trade in specific markets where prospective employers would have to physically come and hire them. The informal nature of this industry means most temporary employment is done through word of mouth and referrals, and Sukoon is trying to change that.

Sukoon founders Shoaib Iqbal and Qazi Umair are both ex-Rocket Internet employees who had no qualms about quitting their jobs to fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.

“Sukoon acts as a catalyst for social impact by improving the material well-being of blue-collar workers. We at CresVentures are big on social impact and feel that Sukoon […] has the potential to be a game-changer in the services industry,” said Humayun Mazhar, CEO of CresVentures, in an emailed statement.

See: Two new startups want to disrupt the informal labor market in Pakistan