Pakistan's COLABS is building a community of 100,000 entrepreneurs and freelancers

COLABS is a startup established in Lahore that seeks to create Pakistan's largest community of entrepreneurs and freelancers through coworking spaces, business solutions, events, and educational programmes. It began as a coworking space in 2019 by twin brothers Omar and Ali Shah, and now has two locations in Lahore, with a third on the way. On the surface, it appears to be another coworking space, but what sets it apart is its goal of building the world's largest community of entrepreneurs and freelancers in the world's fifth largest country.

In an interview with MENAbytes, COLABS co-founder and CEO Omar Shah stated, "We intend to knit together a community of 100,000 entrepreneurs and freelancers in Pakistan, starting with 5,000 seats within the next two years."

Approximately 700 people work from the startup's workspaces at the moment. When its third facility opens early next year, it hopes to hire another 400 people. When questioned if there is enough demand in Pakistan to sell 100,000 seats, he said that given the rate at which Pakistan's startup and freelance ecosystems are developing, there will be no shortage of demand. "It is more about creating the capacity to satisfy the demand," he said.

"We've built a community of startups, SMEs, large corporates, and some very talented freelancers who come and work from our spaces daily, and we're constantly trying to think how we can serve them better," says the coworking operator, who has always had plans to go beyond selling office space and seats but is now putting them into action. For example, after receiving numerous requests, we recently began offering an end-to-end payroll management service to our clients," said Fatima Mazhar, COLABS' newly appointed Chief Operating Officer.

"Our community and network is what we are very proud of," she added, explaining how Colabs differs from other companies in the market. That, we believe, sets us apart from the average place in the country. We also use technology to improve our processes and connect all of the people who work in our spaces. We're striving to bring a variety of services to help people start and develop their businesses, from incorporation to payroll management."

Colabs has made it easier for international technology startups (and enterprises) to build offices in Pakistan by providing them with space and other services. "We have a one-stop-shop offering for international companies that enables them to set up a presence in Pakistan," Fatima told MENAbytes.

Colabs has worked with over 100 organisations to produce events and provide various types of incentives to their communities since its inception. Uber Pitch and She Loves Tech are two significant events that they've hosted at their locations. The company also hosts in-person and online sessions where founders and investors from Pakistan's startup ecosystem are interviewed. They're also developing an employment portal that will connect tech talent with local entrepreneurs.

The Lahore-based firm has laid a solid basis in the last two years, but it will need to punch above its weight to reach its goal of 100,000 users.

Credits: COLLABS/MENAbytes