Long before Nilesh Dungarwal began thinking about India’s frontline workforce, his world revolved around algorithms, technology and financial markets. Working on systems for financial traders, he was immersed in a career that was intellectually demanding and deeply rooted in technology.
A Computer Science engineer from Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Dungarwal began his career working on the development of algorithms and systems for financial traders. His early experience in technology and financial markets shaped his approach to problem-solving and gave him a strong foundation in building technology-led solutions. Over the years, his role has also involved working across teams, driving strategic priorities and building organisational alignment as the company has grown. Today, as Co-founder & CEO of WorkIndia, he draws on that experience to set the strategic direction of the organisation and focus on creating meaningful livelihoods for India’s blue- and grey-collar workforce.
But over time, another question began to occupy his mind: where could technology create a more direct and meaningful impact?
The answer took him away from finance and towards one of India’s most fundamental challenges, employment.
Dungarwal saw a large section of India’s blue- and grey-collar workforce struggling to find the right opportunities, while businesses faced their own challenge of finding suitable workers. The problem, he realised, was not necessarily a shortage of jobs or people.
“The problem was not a lack of people willing to work or businesses looking to hire; it was the lack of an efficient, trustworthy and scalable way to connect the two,” says Nilesh Dungarwal, Co-founder & CEO, WorkIndia.
That insight became the foundation for WorkIndia in 2015.
The early vision was simple: use technology to make frontline hiring more accessible and efficient. Over the years, that vision has evolved alongside India’s workforce and its growing adoption of digital platforms.
Today, India’s employment landscape is evolving rapidly, with more people actively participating in the workforce while the nature of work itself continues to change. In July 2026, India’s labour force participation rate for people aged 15 years and above rose to 55.4%, while the worker population ratio increased to 52.5%. Female labour force participation also climbed to 34.4%, up from 32.7% in June, pointing to a growing participation of women in the workforce. At the same time, technology is reshaping how businesses hire, the skills they seek and how workers access opportunities.
For Mr. Dungarwal, these changes have expanded the problem he wants to solve.
“The next problem I want to solve is not simply getting more people jobs, it is making the entire journey from looking for work to building a sustainable livelihood significantly better,” he says.
This means thinking beyond simply connecting a job seeker with a vacancy. Workers increasingly need access to better information, relevant opportunities and pathways to improve their careers, while employers need faster and more accurate ways to identify talent.
Technology could become the bridge between these needs. AI, in particular, could transform how frontline hiring works, from improving candidate-job matching to helping employers identify relevant talent and enabling workers to discover opportunities that align better with their skills.
For Mr. Dungarwal, this is where the next chapter of WorkIndia lies.
“The biggest bet I am willing to make is that the next phase of India’s employment story will be built around technology becoming deeply embedded in frontline hiring,” he says.
Over the next three to five years, his focus will be on AI and emerging technologies, while expanding WorkIndia’s reach into markets and categories where digital employment infrastructure is still developing.
Yet the ambition is not simply to make the platform larger.
“The ambition is not to simply grow the size of the platform. It is to make WorkIndia a much deeper part of how India’s frontline workforce discovers opportunities and how businesses find talent,” Mr. Dungarwal says.
What began with a technology professional questioning how algorithms could create a more meaningful impact has therefore grown into a larger mission around employment, technology and livelihoods.
For Dungarwal, the destination is no longer just about helping someone find their next job. It is about making the entire journey towards sustainable employment easier.
“I want to solve for better livelihoods, not just better job matches.”
