Digital Marketplace for Informal Workers
Trust-verified mobile directory connecting informal tradespeople and domestic workers to fair gigs without exploitative middleman cuts.
Provide daily-wage electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and domestic caregivers verifiable digital work credentials and direct customer access without paying 20-30% platform commissions.
The Root Challenge
Over 60% of Sri Lanka’s labor force is employed in the informal economy. Skilled daily-wage tradespeople (carpenters, plumbers, masonry workers, domestic helpers) rely on predatory contractor middlemen who skim significant portions of their earnings.
Following unprecedented inflation and the economic crisis, daily-wage laborers experienced severe real-income erosion. Traditional high-commission ride-hail and gig apps extract heavy fees that workers cannot afford.
Structural Root Causes:
- Lack of verifiable digital work history prevents informal workers from establishing creditworthiness
- Predatory middlemen take up to 30% commission while providing zero labor insurance or safety guarantees
- Households struggle to find trustworthy, vetted local tradespeople in unfamiliar neighborhoods
Target Community & Beneficiaries
Skilled technician seeking consistent local jobs without paying extortionate commission fees.
- Unpaid invoices after completing work
- Idle days waiting at street-corner labor junctions
Resident needing urgent pipe repair or wiring fixes with reliable pricing and safety vetting.
- Price gouging during emergencies
- Safety uncertainty when admitting strangers
The Proposed Solution & Workflow
A public-interest digital labor directory featuring zero commission fees. Employs community peer endorsements and decentralized QR verification so workers build an unalterable portfolio of completed work.
Operational Model & Governance
Customers search by neighborhood and trade skill. Direct contact occurs via phone call or WhatsApp with zero middleman escrow intercepting wages. Community elders or vocational training centers vouch for worker skill tiers.
Citizen Engagement Lifecycle
Key Civic-Tech Innovations
Architecture & Engineering Approach
Lightweight PWA engineered with Next.js, SQLite / Turso distributed edge databases, and low-latency search indexing.
Worker directory caches locally; workers can view booked contact details even when mobile data runs out.
Ultra-low data footprint: whole app bundle is under 120KB gzip.
Full trilingual voice and text UI with phonetic keyword search across Sinhala, Tamil, and English.
Strict location fuzzing: worker residential addresses are never exposed, only service radius.
Implementation Milestones
Phase 1: Worker Union & Stakeholder Discovery
Q3 2026 · COMPLETEDConduct interviews with 40 informal tradespeople across Pettah and Moratuwa.
Phase 2: Trilingual Directory Engine
Q4 2026 · IN PROGRESSBuild audio-enabled mobile web application and direct calling bridge.
Phase 3: Vocational Institute Partnership
Q1 2027 · IN PROGRESSCollaborate with technical colleges to verify trade certifications digitally.
Phase 4: Open Public Deployment
Q2 2027 · IN PROGRESSDeploy across Colombo metropolitan area with community outreach workshops.
Measurable Success Criteria
Operational Assumptions & Governance Ethics
The directory is explicitly designed as a non-commercial digital public good. Monetization through worker fees is fundamentally prohibited by charter.
- Informal workers possess basic smartphones or can access assistance from family members
- Users prioritize community trust and direct relationships over corporate app guarantees
- Partnerships with local community welfare associations for initial worker identity verification
- Sustained donor or university hosting support to maintain non-profit zero-fee status