Ogram, a UAE-based  recruitment platform, just scored $870,000 in a Pre-Series A equity round by Global Ventures. With this new investment round, Ogram will continue to scale its business in the UAE.  

The “human-cloud” platform offers on-demand temporary staffing solutions for on-site manpower, acting as a freelance marketplace connecting temporary workers to jobs in F&B, hospitality, retail, e-commerce, and logistics sectors, amongst others. The company solves staffing challenges such as limited access to reliable staff, lengthy and costly on-boarding processes for temporary workers, and a lack of availability of staff at a short notice.

Since inception, Ogram has served over 450 businesses and individual clients in the UAE, with over 1,050 active service providers placing over 2,000 jobs per month. Ogram’s app and website will provide customers with a seamless service, from the booking experience, to automated clock-in/clock-out timesheets, to direct staff payment through individual online wallets.

“We founded the company on the premise of solving a pain point that we often faced  in the hospitality sector: inflexible and costly staffing solutions that were not suitable for on-demand business requirements. Our mission is to push the global labour market towards a more flexible modus operandi, shaping the future of the gig economy – with no better place to start than our home in the UAE.”

Shafiq Khartabil, co-founder, Ogram

Ogram was founded in 2016 by former restaurant operators, Shafiq Khartabil and Karim Kouatly, who experienced similar staffing issues first-hand when they worked in the F&B sector. The two founders were later joined by former banker, Karim Beyhum, in 2019. 

While platforms targeting freelancers have been present in MENA for some time, Ogram endeavours to be the first UAE player to provide a digital platform that is focused on the on-site workforce. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits of optimised staffing with fewer and more flexible teams, and Ogram provides an infrastructure to manage temporary staff through the current crisis and beyond.

“We are thrilled to partner with Ogram as they pioneer the regional flexible work economy. The current pandemic is challenging existing employment structures and we believe that embracing flexible work and upskilling the workforce to adopt multiple jobs will be the future of work in the region”. Global Ventures will join Ogram’s Board following this round of funding. 

Noor Sweid, General Partner, Global Ventures

The “gig economy” continues to grow globally as expectations of a typical work day change, especially after coronavirus. Driven by a generational and cultural shift towards flexible work-life balance, younger generations are now anticipating multi-job futures.

In 2018, the global gig economy generated $204 billion in gross volume and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17% to reach a gross volume of $455 billion by 202. The gig economy presents a compelling alternative to full time staff, allowing employers to efficiently manage their manpower needs through seasonal business cycles, while enabling freelancers to control their work schedule and income.