The concept of coworking is undoubtedly a disruptive model of business which has the power to redefine our perception of workspaces in the present times. With the marginal slowdowns in the overall global economy & along with that the ever increasing community of millennials demanding an ideal workspace, we are witnessing major workspace reforms everywhere in India. With the changing trends in the way of working, the coworking industry in India is witnessing an exponential growth.

The research by JLL predicts that by the year 2025, 42% of the population in India will be residing in the urban centers. With the rapid increase in the urban population, the demand for the shared workspaces is expected to rise considerably in the coming decade.

The financial year of 2017-18 reports a massive growth spike in the coworking space industry. This is expected to evolve in 2018-19 as well. Here are few of the highlights which prove that coworking revolution has already started in the workspace industry in India.

• There are 12-16 million seats across all the coworking spaces in India and more growth is expected in the present financial year. Also, it has been observed that the adopters of coworking spaces are no longer restricted to the startup entrepreneurs and freelancers. The staffs of the small and medium emerging businesses, as well as corporate companies, are increasingly adopting coworking spaces with the aim of maximizing productivity.
• The coworking spaces are expected to receive a heavy investment of $400 million in the year 2018 and the industry is set to grow at a rate of 40-50%. The coworking space industry is soon expected to reach the 1 million square feet mark. This undoubtedly presents an immense opportunity for the occupiers with affordable, accessible and on-demand workspaces.
• Presently there are 300 coworking spaces which operate a handful of the coworking centers in the urban cities of India e.g. iKeva.
• The occupancy level for the coworking spaces in India is touching 100%. This indicates the high demand for the coworking spaces.

The Scenario of coworking space industry in India

India is undoubtedly turning into a hub for the coworking spaces. The major reasons why coworking spaces are gaining immense popularity in India are the world-class infrastructure and the valuable networking opportunities. The potential market size of the coworking industry in India is 12-16 million seats. Of all the cities, the six major cities of Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad have the majority of the coworking spaces. Mumbai is the topmost market for the coworking spaces whereas Delhi NCR comes in the second position. These are followed by the cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. The market research reveals that the demand for the coworking spaces is highest in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bangalore.

The 70% of the occupancy of the coworking spaces are by the large corporate companies. The remaining 30% of the spaces are occupied by the startups, freelancers and emerging businesses. Also, the recent surveys reveal that India has evolved as the third highest startup hub all across the world and also the second highest freelancer workforce across the world. All these are contributing to rising of the demand for the coworking spaces in the recent future. The industry experts have forecasted that by 2020, India would witness a demand for around extra 4 million seats in the coworking industry.

Reasons for considering coworking in India

For the startups, freelancers and also the corporate firms, the concept of coworking is considered as highly cost-effective proposition as compared to the traditional workspaces. Also, professional networking is another great pro of a coworking space. Besides this, the coworking spaces have several flexibilities like you have the liberty of expanding teams without many restrictions and opt for increased seats at any point of time with the growth of your business.

The Millennials’ Mindset, Evolving Technology & the Changing Future of Workspaces

The near future of the working trends and workspaces is rapidly changing and this is primarily because this meets the demands of the marketplace due to the major advancements in the field of technology. The improved technology has enabled to access several remote areas and distributed workforces. In today’s world, working remotely has been made possible with the help of personal devices and improved mobile technologies.

Another major reason for change in the workspace trends is the new approach to work style being adopted by the millennials. The millennials form half of India’s population. Also, India is evolving as a strong startup nation. The recent data from trusted sources indicate that 72% of the startup entrepreneurs are below 35 years of age. Flexibilities offered by the coworking spaces are very much preferred by the community of bright and ambitious millennials.

All the above facts and data reveal that the coworking spaces are here to stay and are preferable option of workspaces now and also in the future.

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