Nowadays co-working spaces are gaining importance in the professional work environment where people from different companies, self-employed professionals and freelancers can work independently at one place, without any mutual interference.
It has emerged as another flexible and affordable working option besides working from home, which entails shared facilities, services and equipment. One can say co-working spaces present much more affordable work options than conventional offices and have the potential to replace many conventional offices in the near future.
Delhi-based Awfis Space Solutions Ltd. (‘Awfis’) had been projected as the largest flexible workspace solutions company in India based on total number of centers (as of 31st December 2023).
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Flexible Workspace Solutions
They provide a wide spectrum of flexible workspace solutions ranging from individual flexible desk needs to customised office spaces for start-ups, small and medium enterprises as well as for large corporates and multinational corporations. Their adaptable workspace solutions accommodate a wide range of seating needs, from a single seat to multiple seats, which clients can rent for periods ranging from an hour to several years. Over time, Awfis has evolved from a simple co-working space to an integrated workspace solutions platform.
The network of Awfis covers Noida, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar, Kochi, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Indore.
Awfis has been present in all tier 1 cities and seven tier 2 cities of India, covering 16 cities and 48 micro markets in the country. Their network, experience and relationships across cities and locations allow Awfis to streamline their offerings in a new location and address the local needs of that market.
From the website of Awfis we could glean that Awfis’s co-working offerings are designed to meet the needs of clients seeking ready-to-move workspace solutions, available by the day, week, month, or year, or for a longer fixed term. Their clients consist of freelancers, start-ups, small medium enterprises as well as mid-sized to large corporates, and span diverse industries such as information technology, information technology enabled services, banking, financial services, insurance, and consulting.
Design and Build and Facility Management
Although their core expertise lies in co-working solutions, including flexible workspaces, customized office spaces, and mobility solutions, Awfis has also developed the ability to design, build, maintain, and manage a variety of flexible workspace needs through services like Awfis Transform and Awfis Care. Awfis also provides allied services ranging from food and beverages, information technology support services and infrastructure services such as storage and customisation to event hosting and meeting arrangements.
Under AWFIS Transform, the company offers comprehensive design and build solutions for developing its centers as well as developing external commercial offices of its clients.
Awfis has built a facility management mobile application named Awfis Care for its employees managing Awfis Care, which helps in tracking the employees’ daily activities. The company has also built a real-time dashboard for its facility managers to track and analyse efficiencies.
Flow of Accolades
During 2023, Awfis won many accolades such as ‘Best Coworking Space’ at the RICS South Asia Awards 2023, ‘The Best Chain of Flex Spaces’ at the BW FlexiSpaces Awards and Great Manager Institute’s Top 100 Top Business Leader Awards for their Founder and CEO, Amit Ramani, which together have contributed to solidifying their industry leadership.
Awfis further showcased its commitment to innovative workspace design by securing the ‘Managed Offices Space Design of the Year’ for two of their projects at both the Realty + Conclave & Excellence Awards 2023 – North and the 15th Realty + Excellence Awards 2023 – South.
In the last year, Awfis also clinched the ‘Coworking Marketing Initiative of the Year’ at the 15th Realty + Excellence Awards 2023 – South for its impactful promotional video titled The Final Round #YourWorkspacePartners, which was created in collaboration with popular content creator, Aiyyo Shraddha.
According to Amit Ramani, Founder and CEO, Awfis, “At Awfis, our mission has always been to redefine workspaces and create an environment that inspire productivity and collaboration. These awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. We are honoured with the recognition, and we remain committed to providing exceptional workspace solutions that empower professionals and businesses.”
Impressive Funding
Awfis has been attracting a galore of funding since 2015. On the May of this year, Awfis attracted news when it raised close to Rs.269 crore from 32 anchor investors, just ahead of the launch of the book building for its initial public offering (IPO).
Out of that Rs.144 crore was garnered from 19 domestic mutual funds. The mutual funds included Invesco India Multicap Fund, Axis Mutual Fund, HDFC Small Cap Fund, Goldman Sachs India Equity, ICICI Prudential Housing Opportunities Fund, HSBC Global Investment Fund, and Allianz Global Investors Fund among many others.
Prior to this funding, Awfis raised a funding of $142 million from over 12 rounds,which covered a period from 16th June 2015 to 27th September 2023.
