Platform co-operatives in the age of gig economy: A case study of SEWA cooperative federation

Digitalization and technology have changed the face of India. Emerging technology and AI have had the most impact in the service sector. Many digital platforms have come into service in recent years like Zomato, Uber, Ola, Urban company. Even though gig economy offers the participants a feeling of freedom of work hours and autonomy, it has been wildly criticized for its treatment regarding the employees. Platform cooperativism is a combination of cooperative initiative and digital platforms attempting to provide the benefits of both the entities. Combining the democratic governance in co-operative societies and autonomy of digital platforms is quickly catching up in our country. This paper is a case study of such an initiative located in Gujarat named SEWA co-operative federation on how they make use of digital platform for connectivity and networking.