Dealflow | October 14, 2018

Japanese investor ARUN backs Indian domestic service platform BookMyBai

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, October 14 – ARUN invests in seed-stage social enterprises tackling issues like poverty alleviation and gender equality. The Japanese impact investor has made an undisclosed investment in Indian startup BookMyBai, which connects households to domestic workers like cleaners and gardeners.

BookMyBai positions itself as a tech startup that is changing “a $7 billion industry [that is] highly unorganized and is plagued with non-professionals.” The company aims to act as a vetting and direct hiring service for homeowners. ARUN sees the potential to boost job stability and income of domestic workers, particularly women, who otherwise depend on informal “maid bureaus” to get hired.

“[BookMyBai has] been able to impact the lives of thousands of marginalized women who are now earning enough money to support families,” ARUN’s Satoko Kono told the Economic Times. “We see this as an opportunity to be able to support a startup which is not only sustainable but also has a large social impact amongst the rural households.”

BookMyBai, which launched in 2015, operates in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Funding will help the company expand to Hyderabad and Delhi.