19th February 2023, Kathmandu
Sajilo Sewa which started as a college project turns into an enterprise is a means of earning up to one and a half lakhs per month.
Kawish Bhakta Shrestha and Sujit Regmi were doing Masters in Management (MBA) at Kathmandu University in 2016. They quit their jobs and started studying for MBA. Both had the desire to do something themselves.
During their studies, they thought of a startup business. It was an idea that came as a class project. During the discussion, there was a change in that thinking. Some changes have been made.
With time, Pukar Acharya also joined Shrestha and Regmi. During the trek to the Annapurna base camp, Shrestha and Regmi told Pukar the plan for the ‘startup’.
The thoughts of three people took shape. And was born, ‘easy repair service’. Easy repair service has been rebranded as ‘easy service’.
Establishment:
The company, which started by creating a Facebook page, has now given full employment to 32 people. Easy Services employs approximately 400 skilled service providers. More than 50 thousand times, various services have been provided through easy service. Those connected with the business started by three friends with an investment of three lakh rupees are now earning up to one and a half lakh per month.
Easy service provides all the services needed at home and office. All basic services, such as plumbers and carpenters, are available. Now more than 50 services are available in easy service.
“Sajilo Sewa is a service company that operates as a market,” Kawish explains. “Sajilo Sewa is a bridge that connects consumers and service providers, from which all services required for a home or office are obtained.”
They brainstormed deeply about Sujit’s ideas that came as a class project. Researched the market. Presented at various startup programs. Kawish says, ‘While presenting our idea in different places, the idea that was born in the classroom later took the form of an easy service.’
I had to make a business plan and present it in class. It was necessary to solve the problem of coming up with a business idea. They looked for ways to solve problems like plumbing and started researching from there.
They reached more than a hundred houses in the Baneshwar area. He inquired from house to house about the availability of technically skilled manpower. They also investigated the corporate sector. The answer of many was the same – it is difficult to find skilled manpower to work like that.
During the research, they also visited various technical schools like CTEVT which produce skilled manpower.
They used to complain that the labor produced there was unemployed. Even those who were studying were not confident about getting a job. Talked to about 200 people. They talked about being skilled but not getting a job right away, not being respected for their work, and not being treated well.
Most of them used to complain, ‘I can’t find work in Nepal, what can I do without going abroad?’
There was a ‘gap’ between the consumer and the service provider. The founder of the company saw that ‘gap’ as a place to plant the seeds of business. A new business was born out of the desire to provide necessary services to consumers, prevent the migration of skilled workers, and create an environment where work is available with respect.
While doing my Master, Kawish, and Sujit also interned at a prestigious company like Surya Nepal. There was also a job offer after the internship. However, it did not attract those who were planning to realize their ideas.
As the doors of commercial possibilities were opening from the Facebook page, they formally gave it the shape of a company in 2017. In the beginning, two technically skilled people started working. The first customer to take the service was a relative.
However, now the range of easy services has widened. Hundreds of service providers are affiliated with it, and thousands of people have used it. Easy Service has expanded its scope from Kathmandu to Pokhara.
“Pokhara is developing as the main city of Nepal,” Kawish says, “The hospitality sector there is different. We have expanded our service there as well. Easy Sewa is planning to expand to other cities soon.
The next target of the company is Itahari, Chitwan, and Butwal.
As an easy maintenance service, the company was rebranded as ‘Sajilo Sewa’ last year. According to Kavish, the company has been given a new name that includes not only repair services but also other types of services.
The consumer also had a similar demand. To expand further, we rebranded it as an easy service last March with the thought of providing not only technical things but also all kinds of services needed at home and in the office,” he says.
The company, which started with a focus on maintenance, has now been assisting in tasks ranging from garden care to providing salon services at home. Consumers can get all kinds of services from the company’s website or app. The cost of the service you want to use is specified there.
The situation is not the same as it was six years ago when such a business was launched via the Internet. Gradually, with the advent of the Internet, there has been a change in people’s understanding of e-commerce platforms. Taking all these things into account, the company is working on preparations to make a comprehensive plan for the coming days.
The journey to reach the present situation was not as easy as expected. Kawish himself admits that the company did not grow to its full potential during this period. There are various reasons for this.
Their experience is that they are not comfortable with things like the government’s policy regarding the start-up business and the support required for investment from the government mechanism.
“We don’t have a clear law,” says Kawish, “the policy is not clear, which causes various problems.” We are working on your behalf. However, there is nobody to listen to our problems from the government side. No matter how much we lobby, it is the government that makes policies and rules.’
Easy service is working with a broad goal even amid difficult conditions and uncomfortable environments. So far, 70 percent have taken services from the company repeatedly. The service providers affiliated with the company are earning from 22 thousand to 1.5 lakh rupees per month.
Easy Service’s long-term goal is to have 10,000 service providers affiliated with it by 2027. Besides, they plan to work in the field of producing skilled manpower themselves.
“We are also investing in technical centers to create a good skilled work environment in Nepal,” says Kawish, “our goal is to ensure that there is no shortage of skilled workers and that skilled workers do not lack jobs.”