New app helps Bangladesh jobseekers navigate the informal economy

Google is working with a startup that helps Bangladeshis find jobs online.

Through Area 120, a workshop for experimental products, Google has been working with a new app called Kormo, which matches jobs to jobseekers within the informal economy. The app went live about a year ago in Dhaka and has already matched over 21,000 jobs to Bangladeshi users.

Kormo, which means “work” in Bengali, focuses on jobs in unregulated forms of employment. The Kormo team is now headed by Bickey Russell, who previously headed a team in Google’s marketing solutions department. Using Kormo, Bangladeshi job seekers can update their résumés, look and apply for jobs, and even access content that helps them develop essential work skills.

For employers, the app also helps them assess candidates through performance ratings and references.