The Potential of On-Demand Platform for Caretaker Service in Indonesia

Last Monday (1/13), a venture capital EV Growth announced to invest series B funding in the on-demand platform for caretaker service Homage. Based in Singapore, the startup provides personalized caretaker curation services, for individuals, families or organizations.

After the investment, Homage's Co-founder & CEO, Gillian Tee said his intention for expansion to Indonesia. He saw the large market potential.

Based on BPS data, the total elderly (people in their 60s and older) increased from 18 million in 2010 (7.56%) to 25.9 million in 2019. In 2019, Indonesia sent 300 caretakers for the elderly to work in Japan.

Digital health services enthusiasm

Last year, DSResearch has released "Wellness Report 2019", one of the highlighted points is the use of healthcare apps. There are 438 people among the total 600 respondents in Jakarta who have used the websites or apps for healthcare or wellness.

Consultation-based and doctor's appointment apps are the most widely used. Halodoc (45.3%), Alodokter (32.3%) and KlikDokter (18.8%) are the apps with the highest percentage. The healthtech industry trend is due to the presence of consumer trust in the health solutions through digital media.

It is also questioned in the report on the factor that makes the respondent loyal to the healthtech apps. The easy access, complete features, and total users are top of the list. Followed by costs, product innovation, and brands.

The on-demand platform for caretaker in Indonesia

In Indonesia, there are some players using a platform to connect caretaker provider with the communities. First, there is MHomecare, which is currently available in Jabodetabek.

MHomecare's Angga Pramana Jaya said, based on the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers (BNP2TKI) data, the growth of nurse graduates in Indonesia has reached more than 26 thousand people each year, the employment growth on the other hand (in terms of health service facilities) was far below that.

Health workers (nurses, midwives, and caretakers) who are members of this service can receive training provided by MHomecare Provider Academy to develop their soft skills and hard skills, including service standardization.

In addition, there is a Homecare24 portal. This startup founded by Theresia Monica has embraced markets in Greater Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya and Makassar. The lack of appreciation and salary rate for nurses in Indonesia is currently one of the reasons for this service development.

There are other startups tried to explore a similar segment, such as Insan Medika, RuangRawat, and MyNurz.

Business opportunities

In the interview with DailySocial in the midst of 2019, Homecare24 has acquired 1300 caretakers. While MHomecare has 672 caretakers who already passed the selection process and the internal education program. Each application has been used by thousands of users.

As seen from the survey on the public enthusiasm with the digital-based health services, about the easy access and others, on-demand service for caretaker also has good potential.

Not to mention the needs of caretakers in the Southeast Asian region. BNP2TKI detected an increase in demand for caretaker services from Indonesia. Sequentially the number starts at 278 people each, 279 people, 324 people and 329 people from 2015 to 2018.

The Director of BNP2TKI Services said, they actually served 550 quotas, but it's not full yet. Using the access and synchronization with digital platforms, it is believed to deliver more caretakers especially when graduates from the nursing academy keep increasing.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian