Melvin Alex Samuel By Express News Service CHENNAI: When almost every part of our waking lives now has a digital companion, instructing us and keeping track of the progress, the tech world has newer service providers every day. While apps like Urban Company and Handyman hold somewhat of a monopoly in the area of serviceprovider aggregators, here is one rising from the heap in Coimbatore. A month old in the business, SkilEx promises to provide you with the best professionals for all your home and office needs. And much more. “We offer a range of services,” says A Dhanasekar, MD of SkilEx. “From installations and repairs, sanitation, home maintenance, gardening, to pest control, medical aid, beauty and wellness.” Like others of its kind, SkilEx strives to be the bridge between service providers and those in need of them. While the app may be fulfilling an area of need in the district, the big business idea was born out of necessity, says Dhanasekar. He moved to Coimbatore from Chennai in 1995. When the company he worked for shut down, he began a computer sales and services firm in 2000. But things did not work out. “With the growth of malls and big brands like Reliance opening shops, the sales at a small unit like ours was not good. We survived only because of the service part of our business. It was then that we decided to expand into the software side of affairs,” he explains. Five years ago, the software that he tried to develop didn’t work. SkilEx became a reality after he outsourced the work to software programmers. The app that was launched in January-end is distinctive because of what it does behind the screen. As a means to provide for the provider, Dhanasekar is looking to use the app to create employment opportunities for underprivileged women. “We want to train them with experts, in order to help them improve their livelihood. Besides, the men in this pay grade will be daily wage earners and often tend to spend all the money on alcohol. I want to help them better their subsistence and play a role in empowering the women around them,” he says. He is hoping to hire more women through word of mouth means. SkilEx offers a place for students to hone their skills by means of a part-time job. “Many students work part-time for a moderate salary but in our company, we provide a platform for them to learn new skills from each other and from experts; this way, they can take care of their studies,” he says. While the tech is in place, Dhanasekar says that they have trouble finding qualified/ trained service providers. “Only if we reach out to 200 vendors do we get 10-15 skilled personnel. We are trying to identify the right people for the right services. When they are not up to the mark, we train them,” he details. The company, still in its nascent stage, has big plans for the future. “We want to expand our services to Tiruppur, Erode and, then, Chennai. Bengaluru too is on the cards,” he beams.

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