The future of work is at home as employees record higher productivity

Virtual is (still) the new normal. As India completes one year of remote working, something that was initially considered a fad seems to have found favour with companies and employees. COVID-19 isn’t petering out anytime soon, and the world seems to be gearing up to work from home indefinitely. 

As per UserTesting, 65 percent of global professionals continue to work remotely. Some organisations have even recorded an increase in employee productivity, according to Harvard Business Review. 

Who would have thought that limited coffee breaks, zero commute, and fewer water-cooler conversations would make us all more productive?

The COVID-19 disruption and the new normal have resulted in newer opportunities for startups to leverage technology and create products to ease remote work. The ‘hybrid workplace’ is now being touted as the future of work, where employees get the flexibility of working from home or anywhere.

Vineet Singh, Head of Brand and Marketing at WeWorkIndia says, "All this clearly indicates the increasing adoption of flexible working styles that cater to evolving office space needs of large companies and individuals alike.”

The Interview

Last year, increased digitisation also led to a rise in financial services frauds — ranging from minor identity thefts to scams worth billions of dollars. Omkar Shirhatti, Co-founder and CEO of Karza Technologies, says the company saw the lack of information and intelligence available with the institutions. While such investigations usually take 3-4 months, the startup leverages technology to enable companies to take a call beforehand.

Editor’s Pick: App Friday

Increased digitisation in India has led to accelerated adoption of OTT platforms. However, most of the existing local and global OTT operators don’t focus on factual entertainment or non-fiction content. Enter DocuBay, a subscription-led streaming app, that houses award-winning documentaries on crime, nature, biography, culture, travel, history, music, sports, humanity, and more from 100+ countries.

Startup Spotlight

Leverage Edu helps students study abroad by matching them with the right universities

Around one million students from India pursue higher education abroad annually. However, only about five percent of the ‘study abroad’ market is organised. Founded in 2017, Leverage Edu simplifies international admissions for Indian students in over 200 ‘dream’ universities across 30 countries through its globally connected mentor marketplace. Read more.

News & Updates

• Sequoia Capital India has closed a new $195 million seed fund to invest in very early-stage startups. This latest seed fund will focus on Sequoia’s Surge programme which was launched in 2019 to offer $1-2 million capital in pre-Series A funding rounds.

• SEBI unveiled a new set of regulations to ease the listing process for Indian startups on the stock exchanges. The SEBI Board meeting unveiled several measures around the Innovators Growth Platform (IGP) — the vehicle designed specifically for the listing of startups.

• SME finance startup Reevoy raised undisclosed funds from 25 angel investors, including Alok Bansal (Co-founder, PolicyBazaar). The London-based startup will use the funds to build new technology, hire talent, and grow its operations across the UK and India.

• Khatabook announced the acquisition of SaaS startup Biz Analyst in a deal valued at $10 million. The transaction will be a mix of cash and equity. Through this acquisition, Khatabook aims to leapfrog into the next phase of growth, where it will provide premium value added services.

• Tata Power-DDL has partnered with Bengaluru-based SUN Mobility to set up a network of battery 'Swap Points' across North and Northwest Delhi. They launched the first 'Swap Point' with two Quick Interchange Stations to serve the growing demand for EVs. 

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“The world can completely be remote and still be able to function, and that will create a completely different cultural wave where we will have people working from different places, and that will create more opportunities.”

— Kunal Shah, Founder and CEO, CRED

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