The past few years in India have brought a rapid upsurge of flexible working spaces with lesser operational cost owing to the rise in the tribe of startups and entrepreneurs. The change in the dynamics of the workforce has given birth to the concept of coworking spaces which is seeing a steep rise in popularity with each passing day. And creating its own mark in this territory is Smartworks.
“Coworking is the fastest growing segment in the commercial real estate in India,” said Neetish Sarda, founder, Smartworks, during an interview with Fortune India.
Sarda is the founder of Gurugram-based Smartworks, a co-working firm that has 15 shared-work spaces across nine cities in India. The company is targeting 10 million sq. ft. of managed office space over the next three to five years, with a major focus on the west and south regions.
The founder declared that the overall revenue of Smartworks has increased five times since last year. The company has different tailor-made dedicated co-working spaces for different professionals like such as accountants, lawyers, and techies. The company acknowledges that the set-up for a techie might be very different from that for a lawyer, therefore, it offers bespoke solutions for each vertical.
Echoing the finding of JLL India report that flexible spaces can save around 20-25% of real estate costs, Sarda also said that such a space is more convenient for enterprises and freelancers.
“Coworking spaces have become the preferred choice for many enterprises as they are more convenient and cost-effective.”
Interestingly, Smartworks’ enterprise client list comprises of Tata Communications, Microsoft, ArcelorMittal, Amazon, Carrier, Otis, Daikin, Lenovo, Bacardi, and OLX among others. Since these companies have plans to expand to tier II and III cities, the co-working giant also definitely looking to make inroads into these markets over the next year.