ServisHero start-up wins award at ‘ITU Telecom World’

ServisHero is a marketplace that improves the way local services are discovered and delivered in Southeast Asia.
Launched in June, ServisHero links more than 1,000 cleaners, technicians, teachers and other service providers to customers each month. ServisHero has received more than 150,000 downloads and facilitated more than 30,000 jobs, worth around Bt20 million in transaction value.
Noppol Toochinda, co-founder and country manager for Thailand, said ServisHero was on a mission to raise the income levels of service providers by using data and technology to empower small business owners in Southeast Asia. 
“ServisHero is now available in seven provinces including Bangkok and surrounding provinces and Pattaya in Chon Buri. By next year, we plan to cover more provinces throughout the country, including Chiang Mai, Phuket, Khon Kaen, and Songkhla’s Hat Yai,” he said.
The company plans to raise funds in the first quarter of 2017 to expand its business throughout the nation. 
“We are looking for investors who understand our mission. We need investors who are concerned about social impacts,” Noppol said.
The company offers a platform to help people get in touch with service providers instantly via its mobile application. Noppol explained that consumers just open the app to leave their request for service, then the back-end system routes the request to service providers within the area, who can then send their offer of service directly back to the consumers. Consumers will choose one of these offers. 
“The idea of developing ServisHero was to help local service providers, especially cleaners and technicians, to get more jobs and more income with our platform in order to give them a better quality of life,” he said.
There are two ServisHero apps. The basic one allows the consumer to get multiple quotes from trusted cleaners, technicians, teachers and more, right on their smartphone. The ServisHero Pro app allows service providers to look at consumers’ requests in their area, decide which ones are relevant to them and provide a quote. 
He said ServisHero offered individuals the alternative of freelancing and venturing into the world of entrepreneurship without having to pay for digital marketing and online advertising. For existing small business owners, ServisHero offers access to new customer leads and critical insights into their business practices. 
He thanked the judges at “ITU Telecom World” for giving ServisHero the award, which he said honoured the efforts of his team, most of whom are young people who share the mission to help local service providers get a better life.
Two other start-ups received certificates of recognition from the same event. They are Anywhere 2 Go, the developer and provider of Claim Di, and PRO-toys.