Pehechano- The identity that empowers the marginalized

Trust & Credibility endorsed for the migrating unskilled & semiskilled workforce

We are aiming for a safer society in India using our Pehechano solution. In a huge country like India with over a Billion people, we do not have efficient systems to prevent petty crimes and exploitation. The established law enforcement agencies have limited time and resources and hence these small offenses fall off the radar and this has led to an increase in the rates of victimization and exploitation of aged, women and children as well as the less literate ones.

Our portal superimposes multiple identities into one along with employment track record and police verification. It enables seamless migration for labourers and prevent their exploitation. This category includes, private security guards, delivery agents employed by e-commerce companies, housekeeping staff household help, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other blue-collar working class.

Our solution also will help women and aged persons at home who are visited by service providers by attesting their identities and giving them advance notice of who’s visiting them. This helps traceability and thus prevents crime to a large extent.

We are the only portal which bring together various stakeholders on a single platform and acts as a hub for all identities a person holds as well as a repository of employment related documents. Our ID attestation has its base on Aadhaar (the unique India ID system) but while Aadhaar is seen as the Balance sheet, our Pehechano Portal is the P&L which provides accurate and actionable information for a socially relevant cause.

There is no feature whereby anyone can search credentials of unknown persons. Searching is possible only when a job seeker has shared his identity with an employer. Hence this, by design cannot be used as a job portal. Our primary design is based on Aadhaar but we use two ID documents and not more than 4 digits of Aadhaar thus protecting the data privacy requirements of individuals.

The portal has the ability to cross check from the backend the identity with the original issuer of the same. Eg: The system can cross check the Voter ID from the voter database.

Migrant semi-skilled and unskilled workers at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum are largely deprived of the benefits of internet, e-commerce and aggregation.

This is the foundation for internet-based services to address food on the move, shared low cost accommodation, uniform insurance and ethnic needs of this demographics. An identity system for them with voluntary enrolment, opens a new market for aggregated services, thus empowering the workers earning under $5 a day.

The migrant job seeker can use one of our mobile app- “Meri Pehechan” and carry all their attested identities and work related documents electronically. They need not carry physical hard copies.  Also, their current needs in terms of food on the move, shared low cost lodging, uniform insurance and ethnic needs can be met by voluntary enrolment

The solution is built on open source architecture and API can be exposed for employers who employ these categories of labour.

The solution is designed for low connectivity and low literacy users. The mobile app can retain attested documents in the mobile phone and does always not require connectivity. The enumerators use broadband to upload data of job seekers, but the portal does not need high speed data.

1. We intend to have a minimum 10 Million attested identities in our system within the next 5 years. Our goal is to reach over 300 cities in India with a population of 100,000 plus thus
2. We are expanding our foot print to cover more cities in India via a franchise network
3. We have started establishing point of contact kiosks where enumerators will help migrant job seekers enrol in the Pehechano system, issue QR code affixed ID cards, enabling them get employed in urban areas without hassle 

We are working with Deshpande Educational Trust. This is an NGO which imparts training to underprivileged & unemployed youth and skill them for employment. We assist in enrolling their students and help them connect with potential employers on a pro bono basis.

The employers who currently are part of the Pehechano program include courier companies like BlueDart, Security companies like Terrier Security of Quess Corporation, Facility Management companies like VAR, Schools like Nandini VIdyaniketana, Home healthcare serice providers like Pioneer Healthcare, Pest Control companies like De'Kriminators etc.

The co-founders are two engineers specialized in product development enhancing organization productivity. This helped us to ideate and perfect the solution through several product iterations.

The subsequent rounds of investments brought together several senior professionals. Their representation on the board gave us objectivity and focus in our approach. Our focus is on niche sectors where we will be able to compete and generate revenue whilst staying socially committed.

Going forward, we plan to have growth through a focused business development team and also through a network of franchise partners across the country. 

Employers, who are part of the program, pay for access to verify the background before hiring.

Franchisees also charge the job seeker for issuance of the ID card and a small portion is paid to us.

New models of revenue will evolve based on future services built around this solution. 

MIT’s Solve challenges have a huge audience around the world and the short listed projects resonate well with potential investors from around the world. We believe that our Project is a technology enabled social responsibility initiative and hence would find the perfect future partners through our participation in the Mission Billion Challenge.

Our biggest hurdle is in raising awareness and marketing the product. We belive we have developed a product and has nearly fine-tuned the solution within a limited scope in Bangalore city. We have spent most of our capital in developing and perfecting the product. The next phase of growth envisages investment infusion for marketing and business development and this will help us to be counted a solution that can make a difference to the society.