Singapore startups to stay put in India, aid employees hit by Covid-19

SINGAPORE-BASED startups with Indian offices are racing to help employees infected with Covid-19 or otherwise hit by the pandemic. While the outlook is uncertain, several told The Business Times that they plan to stay put, given the market's tech talent and business potential.

As Covid-19 continues to rage on in India, startups have to cope with employees getting infected. For mapping software startup NextBillion.ai, about 90 per cent of its 30-odd India-based employees have recovered or are recovering from Covid-19, co-founder Ajay Bulusu told BT over a video call from Delhi.

The company, which has offices in Hyderabad and Bangalore, has also been trying to help employees with family members who have been infected.

"For example, I'm personally trying to get my colleague's mother a bed in a hospital. Wherever we can, we are trying to not just collate information - like hey, call this number - but we are making the calls, verifying information and trying to know as much as possible," said Mr Bulusu, noting that misinformation and fake medical products are making the rounds.

Mr Bulusu himself was infected with Covid-19 last month, together with the rest of his family, but has since recovered without requiring hospitalisation. He is optimistic that the situation will improve later in the year, as India rolls out more vaccinations.

If the situation improves, NextBillion.ai is planning to renovate and expand its offices there. Asked about his outlook for the Indian market, Mr Bulusu said: "I think it will get better; it can't get worse than what it is currently."

He added: "This year, I think we're not making any radical calls; we're going to take it month-by-month, see how it progresses. And then we'll see what is the motivation of employees - do they want to come back or work remotely."

Another Singapore-based startup, Reddoorz, is similarly reaching out to affected employees. About 30 to 35 per cent of its India staff were infected or had immediate family members infected, said co-founder and chief technology officer Kunwar Asheesh Saxena.

Reddoorz has about 90 to 100 India-based employees, with its tech development and operations situated in the Delhi-National Capital Region, Noida.

"(Many) were caught off-guard due to the sudden surge in Covid-19 infections in India. We swiftly created internal WhatsApp chats to stay connected to our employees and ensure we addressed any concerns faced," he said.

Reddoorz's human resources team and senior management tapped their personal and professional contacts to help with arranging for the delivery of oxygen, medication and hospital beds.

While there are no plans to shift out of India due to the pandemic, "however, we are open to expanding our tech development in other markets for business growth purposes and for more local involvement once this crisis is over", Mr Saxena said.

But he also noted: "India is and always was a strong powerhouse for technology development. People here are facing challenging times and I believe our shock absorbers are pretty strong."

E-commerce service Qoo10, is similarly confident about the India market, which it regards as a key pillar of its business. The company has around 400 employees in Haryana supporting two online shopping sites: shopclues.com and qoo10.in.

To cope with the Covid-19 outbreak, the company has gone fully into remote working, with meetings over video calls, said the spokesperson.

A spokesperson told BT: "Indian e-commerce is still in its nascent stage and we are still focusing on building up the base of e-commerce in India, which includes getting customers onto Qoo10.in and investing in shipping logistics."

Classifieds platform Carousell similarly plans to stay put. The company has an India Development Centre (INDC) in Bangalore, with 30 employees across the advertising operations, engineering, finance, people and systems functions.

"We are not relocating any functions that operate out of INDC - in fact, we are continuing to hire to build up these teams. Our teammates have shown great resilience and tenacity, and supported the global team in meeting business objectives last year," said Suresh Vasudevan, site lead and senior director of engineering at the INDC.

Carousell has launched a Care4India Programme, which covers the cost of vaccination for Indian employees and their immediate family, while also providing caregiver's leave for those who need to care for dependents due to medical reasons.

On the same note, fashion e-commerce startup Zilingo is sponsoring a vaccination drive and mental health services for all India-based employees, including workers in small-sized factories, a spokesperson said. Some 15 per cent of its headcount is based in India.

"We have recently launched a Covid-19 task force within Zilingo to help employees that are in urgent need of hospital beds, medicines, and oxygen supply, among others, and have been able to successfully help some of our colleagues with their immediate needs," she added.

Like the other startups, fintech startup MatchMove also counts its India team as a key member of the group. It has some 90 staff in the country, with offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Vizag, a spokesperson told BT.

When Covid-19 first broke out, the company shifted to remote working and many staff returned to their hometowns to be closer to family. A "handful" have fallen ill with Covid-19; all have recovered or are expected to fully recover.

"We remain committed to our Indian colleagues and operations as a continuing and important element of the MatchMove group. While this unprecedented humanitarian crisis has impacted everyone in such profound ways, we have found that remote working is possible, but does require commitment at all levels of the organisation," the spokesperson said.

Despite the crisis, MatchMove still sees "tremendous demand" for its banking-as-a-service offerings in India, making operations in the country essential to the company's growth, he added.

Sam Lee, CEO and co-founder of advisory Paloe, notes that startups in the enterprise software segment have been especially hit by India's Covid-19 crisis, as their product development and sales teams tend to be based there.

Sales are particularly challenging, as "virtual meetings are not as effective as meeting face-to-face when it comes to closing deals", Mr Lee noted. "Having said that, India is still a major market and hence it is unlikely that startups will pull out of the country," he said.

In fact, he thinks that the increased entrenchment of remote working could even be an opportunity for startups to expand offshore operations.

"With the new norm, borders are no longer as much of a barrier and companies are able to more easily tap a global talent pool, allowing them to hire the best talents out there," he said.