Racing against a stopwatch, a group of women folds bed sheets as they train to join an Indian start-up that offers instant home services, transforming a traditionally word-of-mouth sector and promising better pay.Households in India have long relied on an informal army of domestic workers to mop floors, wash dishes and cook meals.
A growing crop of tech startups is now attempting to bring structure to the unregulated sector that employs some 30 million people, while allowing both workers and customers more flexibility.
Platforms such as Snabbit, Pronto and Urban Company function much like ride-hailing apps – workers receive bookings online, travel to assigned homes and clock in on their phones.
Performance is tracked through ratings, with incentives and penalties generated by algorithms.
At one of Snabbit's training hubs in the southern tech hub of Bengaluru, workers rehearse tasks such as chopping vegetables against the clock.
