India Startup Gives 4,500 Women Formal Jobs, Steady Pay

Thousands of women who once relied on unpredictable, informal domestic work arrangements now have structured jobs with steady paychecks, thanks to a Bengaluru startup changing how India hires household help.

Pronto connects families with trained, background-verified professionals for everyday tasks like mopping and cleaning, promising workers within 10 minutes in many neighborhoods. But the real breakthrough isn't speed—it's how the company treats its workforce.

The platform currently works with 4,500 professionals, 99% of whom are women. Each undergoes in-person training and background verification before taking bookings, then receives structured shifts that provide predictable income instead of uncertain day-to-day arrangements.

Workers who complete about 20 days of shifts monthly earn a median of $251 to $273, with over 70% staying with the platform month after month. Founder Anjali Sardana says demand is growing so fast that new worker onboarding can't keep pace, with bookings jumping 20% weekly.

The company has exploded from 1,000 daily bookings last year to 18,000 now, expanding from one city to 10 across India in just seven months. Investors just valued the nine-month-old company at $100 million, eight times higher than when it launched publicly in May.

But Sardana sees massive room to grow. She estimates that less than 100,000 people in India use online domestic services daily, while tens of millions of households still rely on informal, word-of-mouth hiring. Market research confirms online platforms capture less than 1% of India's $56 billion home services sector.

The Ripple Effect

When domestic workers gain formal employment, entire families benefit. Predictable income means children stay in school, healthcare becomes affordable, and women gain financial independence they never had before.

Pronto's model proves that formalizing informal labor doesn't just help businesses scale—it transforms lives. As the platform expands into new cities and services like cooking and car washing, thousands more women will trade uncertainty for stability.

India's domestic workforce is stepping out of the shadows and into dignified employment, one 10-minute booking at a time.