IdeaCentricity was recently selected to represent Pakistan in the prestigious GIST Entrepreneur Journey to the US. The company had qualified for this opportunity after intense competition and was amongst 12 entrepreneurs chosen from around the globe.

While the event provided the opportunity to network with US entrepreneurs, investors and learn from the best practitioners in the technology industry, it was a unique opportunity to showcase Pakistan from a different light and to tell an inspirational tale about the lives of the many of determined and hardworking low-skilled workers that IdeaCentricity is trying to improve with the help of its innovative technology platform – Odd Jobber.

Earlier, IdeaCentricity had been awarded the Fulbright Social Innovation Award after pitching at TEDxFulbright DC, and received 2nd prize in Pakistan Startup Cup. The company has also been featured in a number of local as well as international publications including Fast Company, Tech in Asia, Pakistan Observer etc.

Odd Jobber is a mobile based bidding and matchmaking platform for low skilled jobs that brings convenience, sophistication and efficiency while providing additional income opportunities for the millions of job seekers in Pakistan. The platform makes creative use of an ordinary mobile phone and doesn’t require GPS or mobile data connectivity too. Workers are tracked using their mobile phone signals and are alerted about job opportunities in their proximity to which they can respond with their bids simply via SMS or phone call. All this data is sent to the prospective employer within five minutes of request along with service rating information for matchmaking. The user selects the worker he wishes to employ and provides rating towards the end of the service based on which the worker is provided useful tips and training.

The company has successfully concluded trial service with rickshaw drivers at selected areas of Lahore and now intends to introduce the service in the rest of the city before scaling nationwide. Also the company intends to experiment with other worker segments including domestic and office workers, and agricultural workers etc while aiming to bring additional income of $80 Mn for about 67,000 households in three years. This can only be possible through support from the community as we seek to create sufficient public awareness about this initiative.