Is Generation Z Redefining the Indian Workspace? At a time when the real estate industry was witnessing a slump, coworking spaces not only brought in a fresh lease of life to the sector but also turned it into a vibrant option for the teeming millennials.
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With 350 coworking spaces in India currently, this segment is now entering the consolidation mode even as competition heats up. Last year, AltF acquired Daftar while this year saw OYO acquiring Innov8 and CoWrks bagging The Uncube recently. Another remarkable feature this year is the burgeoning investor interest in this space. Also, Tier II cities are waking up to this phenomenon.
Contributions by Tahira Noor Khan.
(This article was first published in the September 2019 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here)
Entrepreneur IndiaAwfis
Awfis is the largest network of co-working centres in India. Its 30,000 seats across nine cities with 63 centres houses more than 25,000 working professionals across 1,500+ companies ranging from Fortune 500 companies to India's coolest start-ups. The customer-centric approach at Awfis puts the community at the core of its best practices. Through 1,000+ events and 100+ strategic partnerships, community members get access to multiple opportunities to not only network with experts and enhance their skills but also benefit from Awfis' network of partners that provide exclusive discounts on F&B, retail, business services, health & wellness, etc. Awfis, which is rapidly expanding across key metros and Tier-II cities, intends to double its seat capacity and centre network year-on-year basis. It aims to achieve 2,00,000 seats in the next 36 months.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Rs 500-20,000 per seat depending on customer's location preference and seating requirements.
Focus: Creating high-quality, aesthetic, activity-based, Grade A, customizable workspaces at affordable prices.
Launched in: 2015 with one centre in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.
Locations: Present in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh, Gurugram, Noida and Hyderabad.
Profile of co-workers: 40% SMEs, 40% corporates, 20% start-ups and freelancers across industries.
Current occupancy rate: Achieve 90% occupancy rate across all the centres
Entrepreneur IndiaGoFloaters
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starts at Rs 35/hour for cafe co-working on a pay-as-you-go model.
Focus: Addressing an upcoming culture of cafés being turned in to plug-and-play business desks and training rooms for the on-the-go workforce. A great degree of attention is paid to the women workforce under "Working Women Hub' which is committed to providing inspiring workspaces.
Launched in: Dec 2017 in Chennai.
Locations: Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Coimbatore with over 175+ work, meeting and event spaces.
Profile of co-workers: Start-ups, freelancers, remote workers, solopreneurs, independent professionals, sales professionals, creative professionals and employees of corporates that have adopted flexi-working.
Entrepreneur India91 Springboard
With a chill-zone, book corner, TT tables and foosball, 91 Springboard is a perfect workspace for millennials who want to have fun while working. This cool co-working space provider is constantly working on initiatives that help its members get to know each other better. This is done through networking events, learning and knowledge-based workshops, recreational activities and much more. Some of the events hosted are Reverse Pitch and Life's a Pitch. The company recently launched an app for members only, with advanced discoverability features to get the most out of 91 Springboard's pan-India community.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: The cost of the space is mostly determined by the city and location of the hub. It also depends on the kind of plans that members opt for. For further details, visit their website - https://www.91springboard.com/
Focus: Emphasis on fun at the workplace. There is a weekly "unwind' session every Friday where everything ranging from board games and tournaments to karaoke, music performances, etc are held.
Launched in: 2013 with its first hub at Mohan Estate, New Delhi.
Locations: Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Pune, Goa.
Profile of co-workers: Start-ups, SMEs, freelancers, enterprise.
Entrepreneur IndiaRegus
International co-working giant Regus has a strong foothold in the Indian market. Its events with partners, networking opportunities, platforms for showcasing global customer magazine, newsletter, social media, app are some of the perks that Regus provides its clients.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Varies. Visit their website https://www.regus.co.in/ for details.
Launched in: IWG India operations started in 2005.
Locations: Over 110 locations in India (covering east, west, north and south).
Profile of co-workers: Mix of professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs, MNCs.
Entrepreneur IndiaOfficingNow
Officing Now is not just a coworking space but also the online hypermarket of all kinds of workspaces and related services. It has a huge presence across the country.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Varies. Visit their website for more information https://www.officingnow.com/
Focus: Female-focused and pet-friendly
Launched in: 2015
Locations: 38 cities across India.
Profile of co-workers: Start-ups, large and mid-size SMEs, key corporates and professionals.
Entrepreneur IndiaGoWork
GoWork wants to stand out by creating a true open-space, inclusive and collaborative workplace culture for its varied clients. It organizes networking dinners and hackathon events to achieve this goal. GoWork is creating more avenues for its clients by offering mentorship programmes for young professionals and entrepreneurs to enhance their skill sets, enabling investor relations, B2B collaborations within the community and to give young businesses what they're seeking the most, i.e., a platform to scale and grow. GoWork has a dedicated Frustration Zone for community members, soundproof Sleeping Pods and a gymnasium and yoga studio to promote fitness and well-being.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starts at Rs 6,500 a seat and goes up to Rs 12,000 a seat, depending upon the services.
Focus: A pet-friendly campus.
Launched in: August 2017
Locations: Two campuses in Gurugram spread across 1 million sq. ft with a total of 13,000 seats.
Profile of co-workers: GoWork enjoys great diversity in terms of age-group, gender as well as the scale of companies that are operating from its campus.
Current occupancy rate: 78%
Entrepreneur India315 Work Avenue
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Average pricing is Rs 12,000 per desk.
Launched in: 2018
Locations: Bengaluru (Indiranagar, Koramangala, HSR Layout, Manyata Tech Park, Whitefield and Marathalli )
Profile of co-workers: IT, tech, fintech, gamification, consulting, migration & support services, e-commerce and applied engineering institutions. Individually, its community consists of developers, solution architects, faculties, entrepreneurs & Chartered Accountants.
Current occupancy rate: 97%
Entrepreneur IndiaThe Playce
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starting price is Rs 7,150 and upwards.
Launched in: 2013
Locations: Mumbai
Profile of co-workers: Education, finance, accounts, digital media persons
Current occupancy rate: 99%
Entrepreneur IndiaHuddle
Huddle not just provides co-working space to its customers but also gives incubation support to start-ups.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Average pricing at Rs 12,000.
Launched in: 2017
Location: Gurugram
Profile of co-workers: MSMEs and ventures, angel investors.
Current occupancy rate: Over 90%
Entrepreneur IndiaQubikal
Away from the metropolitan cities, Qubikal aims to make a name for itself by providing co-working space to Tier-II clients. It encourages entrepreneurship at its centres and has a varied clientele.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Varies from Rs 300-15,999
Focus: Offers special deals to female entrepreneurs.
Launched in: 2018
Locations: Bhopal, Pune (in progress)
Profile of co-workers: Around 20% of all co-workers are freelancers. Some are entrepreneurs who employ others. Some work in MNCs as full-time employees, handling Bhopal-based operations.
Current occupancy rate: 80%
Entrepreneur IndiaSector 7
Sector 7 is not just a working venture but also has full-grown business verticals in Technology Development, Branding as well as Incubations. It regularly leverages opportunities across each of its business for its clients.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Rs 9,500/ seat in Pune (Viman Nagar) and Rs 16,000/seat in Mumbai (Andheri – East).
Focus: Avoid taking two companies of the same sector within the same centre.
Launched in: 2018
Locations: Viman Nagar, Pune and Andheri East, Mumbai
Profile of co-workers: Solopreneurs, start-ups, SMEs as well as large corporates.
Current occupancy rate: 100%
Entrepreneur IndiaDevX
DevX not just provides space for start-ups to realise their dreams but also helps them with funding. It has an extended investment arm which focuses on the growth of early-stage start-ups. The firm offers an investment with a ticket size of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh against 6% to 8% equity participation. DevX has different clubs like Python Developers, ReactNative, Cricket, Table Tennis. The company plans to expand its reach in Tier-II cities.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Varies. Visit their website for details: https://devx.work/
Focus: Women Entrepreneurship - Product designed specially for women entrepreneurs with a discount rate of 50%.
2. Startup Zon - Its portfolio start-ups get the allocated space without any infrastructure cost.
Launched in: 2017
Locations: Ahmedabad (2), Vadodara and Mumbai
Profile of co-workers:
65% belong to their enterprise clients. Start-ups comprise 20% of the space, operating in the domain of electric vehicles, IoT, blockchain, fintech and healthtech.
Current occupancy rate: 99%
Entrepreneur IndiaWSquare
WSquare is India's first co-working and incubation centre for women, with a main focus on inclusivity at the workplace. WSquare has created a community of over 1 lakh women entrepreneurs and women on a career break to provide them with an ecosystem that not only supports them with infrastructure and facilities but also with mentorship and re-skilling programmes.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: From Rs 200 per hour to 6,000 a month.
Focus: India's first co-working and incubation centre for women.
Launched in: 2017
Locations: Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Gurugram, Pune and Bengaluru.
Profile of co-workers: Women entrepreneurs, women on a maternity break, freelancers and consultants, students.
Current occupancy rate: 85%
Entrepreneur IndiaClayWorks
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Rs 9,000 to 12,000 per seat
Launched in: 2017
Location: Bengaluru
Profile of co-workers: A majority of co-workers are enterprise clients with a small mix of start-ups and freelancers.
Current occupancy rate: 100%
Entrepreneur IndiaParagraph Business Centre
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starts from Rs 8,900 and goes up to 11,900 per seat.
Launched in: 2018
Locations: Ahmedabad and Gujarat
Profile of co-workers: Real estate, finance sector, portfolio management companies, essential oil companies, media companies, education, high-value asset analysis companies, automobile companies, etc.
Current occupancy rate: 95%
Entrepreneur IndiaDoxa Business Centre
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starts at Rs 8,000 per seat excluding taxes.
Launched in: 2015
Locations: Chennai and Hyderabad
Profile of co-workers: SMEs, disaster management/ branch offices and larger organizations.
Current occupancy rate: 100% in Chennai and 75% in Hyderabad.
Entrepreneur IndiaCreative Co-Working Cube
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Plans start from Rs 3,500
Launched in: 2014
Locations: Kerala
Profile of co-workers: Freelancers from IT industries, media, fashion industries.
Current occupancy rate: 60%
Entrepreneur IndiaS.PACE
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Dedicated workstation starts from Rs 2,999/per month and dedicated cabin starts from Rs 9,999/ per month
Launched in: 2016
Locations: Bhopal, Indore, Raipur
Profile of co-workers: Start-ups, freelancers, few corporates and service providers.
Current occupancy rate: 85% in Bhopal, 100% in Raipur and 95% in Indore.
Entrepreneur IndiaUncubate
A strong player in the western part of India, Uncubate espouses the spirit of equality and champions queer rights. The company very well understands the region where it is operational and aims to give the best services to its customers.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starting from Rs 4,900 per month
Focus: Special offers for female coworkers.
Launched in: 2016
Locations: Mithakhali and Navrangpura (Ahmedabad)
Profile of co-workers: Start-ups, enterprises, freelancers, artists, lawyers
Current occupancy rate: 85%
Entrepreneur IndiaOneH Club
OneH Club wants to benefit and target 100 entrepreneurs every year. The company has been working on a product-based Club format for entrepreneurs across India, where they can become a member of the platform, get access to hundreds of co-working spaces and cafes on a flexible basis, enjoy rewards and offers from OneH Club partners and access to relevant industry events. OneH believes in integrating technology with the offline model of co-working spaces.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Rs 3,000-4,000 for a seat and Rs 6,500 for annual membership of the Club.
Focus: Pan-India access of a community, events and global mentor / investor access.
Launched in: 2015
Locations: Jaipur, NCR
Profile of co-workers: Artists, developers, freelancers, marketing start-ups, media start-ups
Current occupancy rate: 85%
Entrepreneur IndiaWorkly
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Varies. Visit their website https:// www.workly.in/ for more information
Launched in: 2016
Locations: Delhi (4 centres)
Profile of co-workers: Mix of digital marketing, IT, ed-tech, HR, design, stock trading firms, etc.
Current occupancy rate: 90%
Entrepreneur IndiaSpaces
Spaces is the global leader and pioneer in co-working spaces. It has immense experience in helping more than 2.5 million people and their businesses to work more productively across the globe.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Varies depending upon the requirement. For details, visit their website.
Focus: Expansion in Tier II and Tier III cities.
Launched in: 2017 (India)
Locations: Gurugram, Noida, Chennai, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Entrepreneur IndiaAvanta
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Rs 15,000 to Rs 45,000
Launched in: 2008
Locations: Delhi-NCR (5 centres in Delhi and 1 in Gurugram)
Profile of co-workers: Some key clients are Rolls-Royce India, Thomson Reuters, Star India, Ernst & Young.
Current occupancy rate: 97%
Entrepreneur IndiaInfinity Spaces
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Works on per square foot. The minimum rent starts from Rs 50 per square feet.
Launched in: 2016
Location: Noida
Profile of co-workers: Mostly IT, education, communications, digital marketing.
Current occupancy rate: 99%
Entrepreneur IndiaIndiQube
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Rs 7,000-15,000
Focus: Infrastructure supportive for differently-abled people.
Launched in: 2015
Locations: Bengaluru, Pune, Noida, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
Profile of co-workers: SMEs and ODCs operating with 20 to 200 seats and large MNCs which have more than 200 employee count. In the co-working spectrum, the profile ranges from freelancers such as artists, lawyers and agencies to early-stage startups with team size ranging from 5 to 20.
Current occupancy rate: 95%
Entrepreneur IndiaInstaOffice
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Rs 7,000 to 18,000 per seat.
Launched in: 2016
Locations: Delhi, Gururgram, Noida, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Profile of co-workers: MNCs, startups and SMEs.
Current occupancy rate: 78%
Entrepreneur IndiaOYO Workspaces
OYO is offering start-ups, entrepreneurs and enterprises a flexible workspace with world-class design, thriving community and value-added services at a competitive price point. In July 2019, OYO announced a multi-brand approach to the workspaces opportunity in India with two homegrown co-working brands- Powerstation and Workflo, along with the acquisition of Innov8. Powerstation offers functional workspaces for small and medium scale business at the right prices while Workflo is budget-friendly, functional co-working solution.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starting at Rs 6,999 per set per month.
Launched in: July 2019 (OYO Workstation).
Locations: Innov8 is spread across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai. Powerstation is present in Gurugram while Workflo is present in NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
Profile of co-workers: Start-ups, big and small enterprises.
Entrepreneur IndiaSmartworks
Smartworks has moved away from the traditional model of offering pre-designed spaces to configurable workspaces. The philosophy of providing completely managed and configured office spaces in just 30 days with world-class facilities has proved successful for Smartworks with high levels of customer satisfaction. The company believes in providing an Indian experience with global standards.
FACT SHEET
Pricing: Starts from Rs 7,500 and varies on the basis of the city.
Focus: Large enterprises, SMEs and established start-ups.
Launched in: April 2016
Locations: Noida, Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata.
Profile of co-workers: IT/ITES, manufacturing, healthcare, automobiles, BFSI, Marketing and HR.
Current occupancy rate: 99% for mature centres.
