Startup Series: Werkit—connecting talent at scale

Antler US portfolio company Werkit, which connects high-growth software companies to remote self-managed teams, received the Covid-19 Innovation Award from the Smart City Expo World Congress today. The Covid-19 Innovation Award recognizes companies that have contributed to the successful transformation, adaption, or response of the world's cities to the pandemic. Werkit has connected workers in Zambia to remote digital jobs, digital banking services, skill advancement assistance, and a virtual community of support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

antler

Author

Antler

The investor backing the world's most driven founders, from day zero to greatness. Enabling thousands of founders every year to launch and scale companies that move the world forward.

Werkit launched operations in March 2020, after serial founders Alon Shalvi and Krishma Nayee recognized the potential in connecting high-growth AI companies to the expansive and talented, but underutilized, African labor force. Today, high-growth AI companies rely heavily on humans to deliver services to customers and grow businesses. This leaves companies with low margins, high operational overheads, and unreliable service, which results in lost sales and an inability to scale.

Werkit's enterprise platform enables self-managed teams to deliver high-quality AI operations that scale at competitive rates, with a vision to provide the 420 million youth in Africa access to employment opportunities. Werkit clients can easily set up through a SaaS solution or open API, which connects them to top technologists, digital experts, and subject matter experts abroad while removing the operational overhead associated with a traditional offshore company. Werkit freelancers have access to a variety of work and can optimize assignments to increase individual earnings, a tremendous opportunity for Africa's growing workforce. "We are in the process of developing partnerships and working with more business partners. Werkit's mission is to provide as many decent job opportunities as possible to the community in Zambia, and then later expand operations to the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. In the age of innovation, tapping into a globally diverse remote workforce is a big opportunity," explains Alon.

To date, Werkit has 6 active clients, engages upwards of 1,400 freelancers, and delivers a 30 percent cost reduction to clients. Krishma identifies Antler's international presence as an asset as Werkit scales operations. "I love Antler's emphasis on difference and diversity. Having the opportunity to connect with Antler across the globe - in Nairobi, in London - that's huge. It's forward-thinking. Antler brings an open and global mindset when devising solutions to problems."

As an Antler portfolio company, Alon and Krishma have also collaborated with the Antler team to make key hires and manage the Werkit community. Alon explains:

Working with Antler to identify our north stars and track our progress helps prioritize the truly important decisions. The Antler team is sharp: they get the vision and get the big picture. They keep us honest and focused on the deep challenges, which is very important for us as entrepreneurs; you can easily fixate on refining your comfort zone, instead of tackling the daunting tasks at hand. With Antler, you have extra team members to solve your problems. And in running a startup, your most important asset is learning to generate decision-making. Decision-making drives the business. As you pave your own road as an entrepreneur - when you reach a decision point - it's really hard if you don't have people to talk to and circulate ideas with. Antler is the sounding board that helps us run faster, with confidence, in the decisions we've made.

Learn more about connecting talent at scale with Werkit here.

Alon Shalvi and  Krishma Nayee, co-founders of Werkit

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest news and views from Antler’s global community

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Must-read articles from Antler

Browse our collection of founder stories, industry insights and latest startup successes from Antler Australia

See articles
Founder Stories
5 min read
Sarah Hilmy: Inspiring friends and families to discover the world together

“Holidays are a way for you to enrich your own life. It's about going out and experiencing things that you otherwise wouldn't experience in your everyday life, trying new food, meeting new people, and just learning more about the world in a first-hand way.” —Sarah Hilmy, co-founder of travel platform Oddysee.

Insights
5 min read
50 creators to watch in 2023

As the creator economy continues to grow, expand, and evolve, we've curated a list of 50 exciting leaders to watch in this space. Influencers. Journalists. Operators at prominent creator-related platforms. Founders. These are the players—seen and unseen—who underpin the global creator ecosystem.

Founder Stories
5 min read
Sharon Li & Vanessa Chen: Empowering employees to be their healthiest and most productive selves

“People sometimes think the emotional and professional are conflicting, but what we believe is when people love their organization, the emotional value will actually make them productive. It will make them give their full self to the organization and make the organization grow for the long term.” —Sharon Li, co-founder and CEO of CHOYS

Insights
5 min read
The 2023 Creator Economy: A new direction

Our creator economy insights series—starting with our ultimate guide to the creator economy in May 2021—has tracked the explosion of a sector that upended the professional aspirations of the next generation. Today, as uncertainty and macroeconomic challenges pervade, how are creators pivoting and what does it mean for the sector's future?

Founder Stories
5 min read
Piet Hein van Dam: The seasoned data entrepreneur aiming to eradicate type 2 diabetes

Our content series "It All Starts with People" delves into the passions, motivations, and vision of the exceptional founders we have the privilege of partnering with around the world. Bringing a clarity of vision to our latest spotlight is Piet Hein van Dam, co-founder of Clear, the award-winning digital self-help tool for diabetes patients.

Insights
5 min read
Unpacking the $80+ billion ONDC opportunity: India’s next startup catalyst

India's approach to unbundle payments made the world look up and take notice. Now it's time to disrupt commerce with the Open Network for Digital Commerce or ONDC. In our latest Theory of Next deep dive we mapped, researched, and reached out to every network participant live on ONDC right now.


And we're excited to share with you a comprehensive what could be India's next unicorn catalyst with inputs from Vibhor Jain (COO of ONDC), Sujith Nair (Founding member of Beckn Protocol), and founders building on ONDC!

Co-authored by Nitin Sharma (Partner, Antler) and Gokul Kumaravelu.

Insights
5 min read
Five steps investors can take to support more diverse founders

Despite growing calls to create a more inclusive venture capital ecosystem and remove the barriers to entrepreneurship, only a fraction of funding is raised by founders from underrepresented communities.

The first step towards change is quantifying the challenge. While in-depth research has been conducted about women founders and founders from ethnic minority backgrounds, data has never existed about tech founders from the LGBTQ+ community—until now.

Insights
5 min read
A record year for Europe's leading day zero investor

A look back at 2022, a record year for the leading day zero investor in Europe—showcasing investment activity and key predictions for the early-stage tech ecosystem in 2023.