Thai Homecare Digital Platform SAIJAI Targets Aging Demographic Which Makes Up 25% of Thailand’s Population

Thailand’s online homecare start-up SAIJAI is eying the county’s aging population of 16.3 million as a prime market opportunity. The graying of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is on a fast growth trajectory, and it will account for 30% of the market by 2030. The needs of an aging Thai society are shifting but the core values of taking care of older family members remain strong.

 As COVID-19 firmly etched itself in to the daily life of Thais, multi-generational households have increased resulting in a greater need for professional, real-time homecare services. This dynamic is set to continue witnessed by heightened demand for larger family homes across the nation’s real estate markets, rising ‘friends and family’ travel and greater emphasis on overall quality of life.

 SAIJAI offers on-demand online homecare services to seniors in Thailand ranging from personal care and transportation to mobility and access to healthcare specialists, to meet the fast-growing need.

SAIJAI’s entrepreneurial digital journey started in late 2000 in the midst of the pandemic. when the global crisis created the biggest opportunity of our lifetime with widespread disruption of existing business models.

 A core pillar of the offering is for the senior segment and we see this growing. ‘On-demand’ services are the future of Thailand’s service sector and in a country of over 65 million people, the metrics are remarkably strong for businesses to grow.

In September of last year SAIJAI’s phase one online homecare platform launched with an MVP (minimum viable product) strategy, pre-market valuation and seed investment round that will be closed in the first quarter of this year.

 One factor that has spurred the enterprise is Thailand’s 75% mobile phone penetration meaning the SAIJAI community could come to market quickly through social media and applications such as LINE and Messenger rather than relying on web traffic.

 Today, the SAIJAI marketplace not only provides homecare pairing for the elderly but also childcare, maids, tutoring, drivers and pets. A nationwide network of nearly 2,000 individual caregivers has been established on the platform and is increasing daily.  ‘

 On-demand’ homecare has been a hit home in the wake of a work from home (WFH) culture, as it allows working parents the flexibility to provide assistance to seniors for medical appointments, indoor and outdoor activities or companionship.

Thailand’s ad hoc or gig economy has skyrocketed, as legacy employment in hotels, restaurants and the service sector is simply no longer a given. Tourism represents as much as 20% of Thailand’s GDP.  The ability of a platform like SAIJAI to effectively raise the standards of homecare is clear given an amazing talent pool of individuals who want to control their own schedules. Thailand’s shift to a home-based workplace is part of what SAIJAI is all about and intends to innovate in their online platform.

 About SAIJAI

SAIJAI is a start-up online homecare marketplace that was established in Thailand in 2020. Its homecare services platform addresses specific diverse consumer segments across the country including the elderly, childcare, education and tutoring, and household services. SAIJAI was co-founded and is led by noted hospitality professional Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks and Michael Kenner who heads Digital Broker Ventures (DBV), a serial digital entrepreneur with a growing list of successful start-ups including leading Thai proptech group FazWaz, digital media platform The Thaiger, online price comparison hypermarket Tadoo, and MyMediTravel. The combination of technology experience, business development acumen, and demonstrated enterprise expertise provide a strong foundation for the growth of SAIJAI.