Awfis Earned Revenue of 160 crore and Expect it to Increase to More than 300 crore for the Next Fiscal Year
Headquartered in New Delhi Awfis Space Solutions was founded in 2015 by Mr Amit Ramani. It currently has 63 centres and 30,000+ seats across 9 cities. Awfis is focused on redefining the way work gets done in the current business environment, by providing an ecosystem of inspiring workspaces for the innovative freelancers, entrepreneurs and corporates for their changing business needs. With a total member base of 1500+ companies and 25,000+ professionals ranging from India's coolest start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Awfis curates 500+ exclusive events, workshops and experiences every year for its community members. Under its Rewards Program, Awfis has curated 100+ strategic partnerships that provide its community members seamless access to leading service providers in the fields of accounting, legal, recruitment, payments, web services, mail management, healthcare and insurance etc. making it a one-stop-shop for all requirements of an emerging corporate's set up.
At Awfis, they operate using either - Straight Lease model or Managed Aggregation Model. Right now, only 30% of their seats are under a straight lease model wherein they have taken up the property on a rental basis. They heavily engage with landlords under their Managed Aggregation Model (MAM). Managed Aggregation Model (MAM) is where Awfis ties up with landlords of underutilized commercial spaces and shares the revenue with the landowner. Currently, 75% of seats are under 'managed aggregation' model and Awfis intends to increase this to 85% in the next 10-12 months.
Awfis made a significant dent in the Indian co-working space right when the start-ups and SMEs saw a massive surge in India given the influx of foreign funding and push from the government. Awfis started its business as solution providers in the real estate market. With rapid urbanization, burgeoning traffic, increased travel times, 'Anywhere workspace' became the new normal.
“The idea germinated during my consulting days when alternative office solutions were the need of the hour and these solutions were widely accepted in global markets by leading corporates. We started our business with the goal of providing new age and technology-enabled workspaces that provide a superior alternative to owning conventional offices.” says Mr Amit Ramani, CEO & Founder of Awfis.
At Awfis, they are committed to bridge the existing Commercial Real Estate (CRE) gap in India by transforming commercial assets into Grade A workspaces and making them accessible at affordable prices. The aim is to provide a commercially viable solution to the workforce of India owing to the highly price-sensitive and extremely rational Indian consumer.
Awfis has been able to build a niche for itself and stand apart within the ever-evolving ecosystem, largely owing to its commitment towards providing high-grade workspaces and amenities at affordable prices. They understand India's market and its key challenges from a commercial real estate perspective. They are more value-driven and are betting on that for a much larger market share. They have been able to successfully identify CRE assets, collaborate with landowners and deliver Grade A workspaces in a value-driven manner. They also have a range of 'Mobility Solution' products for today's work-on-the-go population along with their newly launched product 'Awfis Enterprise Solutions' that caters to corporates, startups and SMEs supporting them to set up their head offices & satellite offices with us. They have efficiently deployed their resources to meet their business requirements ensuring the best quality of workspaces provided.
“We offer an array of seats which cater to 1 hour of meeting room requirement to a 1000-seater long term requirement of a larger enterprise. The products that we offer include Coworking products like fixed seats, flexible seats, private cabins; Mobility Solution products like Virtual Office, National Pass, Awfis Roaming & Bulk Meeting Room Hours; and Enterprise level integrated solutions that come under Awfis Enterprise Solutions (AES). Apart from these products, we build additional seat revenue through in-centre F&B sale, IT services etc.” adds Mr Amit Ramani, CEO & Founder of Awfis.
The coworking industry in India is at its peak and is on its way to transforming into a mainstream segment. The millennial workforce is ever-evolving and over 13 million people are expected to work out of coworking centres by 2020 in India, with many corporates expected to allocate 10% of their office portfolio to agile workspaces Also, along with metros have witnessed great demand, Tier-II cities are expected to come to the fore, with studies suggesting that these markets are estimated to grow to 8.5 mn seats by 2020.
The journey of Awfis growing from 5,800 desks across 20 centres in July 2017 to 30,000 seats across 63 centres in 2019 is a clear indicator of the growth. They have 25,000 community members and 1500 companies spread across 9 cities in India. They are committed to consistently gratify their user base by ensuring complete transparency while enhancing relationships with both internal and external stakeholders. They intend to foray into their B2B venture to broaden their reach in the segment.
