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Worc: Egyptian Mobile Application Connecting Freelancers & Employers

Worc: Egyptian Mobile Application Connecting Freelancers & Employers
written by
Hend Salah

The startup scene in Egypt is one of the most evolving and fastest growing in the country. In the past couple of years, many young entrepreneurs not only succeeded to create successful and competitive businesses but also contributed to boosting Egypt’s economy.    

In our continuous search for all that is new in Cairo, we stumbled upon the founders of Worc, a group of young enthusiastic entrepreneurs, who created a local mobile application, outsourcing work through a map-based scheme.   

Launched as a beta version on Android, Worc is essentially a mobile application connecting freelancers and companies using the GPS.

After founding Mostaqqel, a platform connecting employers and freelancers in the Middle East and noticing that crowdsourcing is booming in Egypt –with the success of crowdsourcing-based applications like Bey2ollak – Tiara Martinez (from USA), Wissam Saleh (from Jordan) and Mostafa El Habbal (from Egypt), felt the need to establish a local freelancing platform, catering to the demands of the local market.

“We have learned so much from planning and developing Mostaqqel to the point that we became aware of the requirements of the entire process and it took us four months to develop Worc,” Martinez said.

Divided into two categories –the professional tap and the individual tap— Worc provides freelancing services to companies aspiring to recruit freelancers, as well as individuals who would like to build a professional profile.

“Professional tap includes professional freelancing services in different fields including translation, data entry, photography and event management, whereas the personal tap includes personal and household services, including delivery and errand services, plumbing, housekeeping, etc,” Martinez added.

Unlike Elance – an international employment platform – Worc is a map-based application that targets local freelancers and employers.  

“Worc is an on-demand application. When you post that you’re looking for a painter, all the nearby painters are notified and you get informed about their availability to do the job right away,” Martinez explained, adding that Elance provides international freelancing services rather than local ones, which is why their process requires more time and bidding.  

For every application user, Worc charges one dollar; a onetime fee from whoever wishes to create a profile or post a freelance opportunity on the application. 

“Charging a fee for the application through credit cards allows us to make sure that the application users actually have real accounts which will help us prevent fake accounts,” Martinez said.  

Worc app is currently undergoing a trial phase where users can register free of charge and as of April, the application will be available on iOS where it will charge a one dollar fee (8LE).

“We selected some freelancers and some of our partners for this test phase. In this trial period, we are only searching for potential employers and freelancers,” Martinez said, adding that during the trial month, the Worc team will monitor how the application works and whether it is user friendly or not.

To ensure a better and more transparent service, Worc app has a reviewing and rating system for all their employers and service providers.

“Any worcer who gets below 3 out of 5 will be removed from the application. We aim to provide the best service possible,” Martinez said.

After launching in the Egyptian market, Worc app will be adding more features and more freelancing categories based on the demand they receive.

“If a specific job is requested by businesses or individuals, we will search for the best candidates and include the job as one of our freelancing categories,” Martinez concluded.

 

 

 

 

 

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