Digital platforms have positively impacted the poor and marginalised households in Bangladesh with increased access to the job market and information. Among the many platforms available such as Pathao, Uber or Romoni, one of them operated in the informal sector; specifically with day labourers, called Kormo. Kormo, an app-based platform designed by Google’s incubator program for innovative ideas, was piloted in the informal sector in 2016, in collaboration with BRAC Skills Development Programme (SDP). It was designed as an online job-matching platform for the underprivileged, targeting entry-level blue-collar jobs such as day labourers. Despite being led by two pioneers in their respective fields, integrating a digital solution in the informal employment spectrum came across various challenges. The project was afterwards redesigned for a relaunch using a different business model. The goal of this study is to explore the journey Kormo had in addressing the bottom of the pyramid in the job sector by introducing a digital solution and the challenges that came with it, which would open up new research scope and innovative ideas going forward.
The findings were compiled into a conference paper, which was presented at BIGD’s 3-day International Conference on Digitalization in June 2022, titled “Digitalization and New Frontiers of Service Delivery: Opportunities and Challenges.”
Authors: Mahmud, Tahmid Bin; Haq, Nutan Farah; Abedin, Zeeshan
Type: Conference Proceedings
Year: 2022
