Source: Business News, The Star
MALAYSIANS can now make extra money with their mobile phones by doing simple micro-jobs for GigaGigs, the country’s first mobile-based micro-tasking platform.
The company is a local joint venture with WeiChaiShi, a firm that established an app to champion the micro-tasking movement in China since 2014 and is now popularly known as the biggest crowdsourcing B2C platform in that market.
GigaGigs predicts that more than 80% of Malaysians will participate in the sharing economy over the next three years.
It also anticipates that Malaysians are poised to adapt very quickly to this trend due to the receptiveness of its population to the latest mobile technology and new ideas as well as the affordability of its smartphones and superior network infrastructure.
The trend of using the likes of Uber or AirBnB has become a worldwide phenomenon and presents a new way of working.
The micro-jobs offered by GigaGigs can consist of tasks like taking photos of soft drinks that you buy at a convenience store, jotting down the price ranges of shampoos at a hypermarket, and giving your feedback while waiting in line at a customer service counter.
Once the job is completed, the person will be paid in cash or mobile bill topped-up.
All you need to do is to share your smartphone and some free time to finish simple and easy micro-jobs commissioned by well-known multinational and homegrown clients.
“According to our recent GigaGigs Malaysia survey, 80% of Malaysians like the idea of doing micro-tasks on their mobiles, as not only is it a simple and convenient way to make extra money, users also have the freedom to do these tasks on their own time.
“The sentiment is the same in China as most shoppers like the fact that they can supplement their income by doing micro-tasks while they are travelling on public transportation or when grocery shopping.
“In China, we have 3.5 million people registered on our platform. To date, we have created more than 7.5 million micro-jobs across 500 cities. We believe that the trend will be very similar in Malaysia when GigaGigs is fully operational,” says WeicHaiShi founder and chief executive officer Charles Pei.
Pei wants to replicate the success story in China in other parts of Asia, starting with Malaysia. Malaysia is definitely ready to ride this new wave as the smartphone ownership here is above 70%, and smartphones are affordable.
“Malaysia also has great infrastructure support, with its wide network coverage, good WiFi accessibility, high literacy rate, a mature modern trade retail environment and strong adoption of online shopping.
“High performing participants on our WeiChaiShi platform in China have been able to earn the equivalent of RM25,000 to RM40,000 over a period of one to three years, depending on their working schedules.
“Even average participants earn the equivalent of at least a few hundred to a thousand ringgit a month. That said, our platform offers more than just money and flexibility. It also presents the opportunity to grow and learn new skills,” says Pei.
GigaGigs chairman Khoo Kar Khoon elaborates further on the findings