Bengaluru, Apr 2 (IANS): The gig economy neobank, Avail Finance has launched a specially designed COVID-19 support-package called 'Avail Assist' for gig-economy platforms in India.

This offering will help gig-economy companies across e-commerce, food delivery, logistics, mobility and transportation, offer financial support to their on-ground workforce who are not eligible for employee benefits.

A large part of the gig economy workforce is dependent on daily earnings to support themselves and their families, and these challenging times pose a severe strain on the liquidity and medical needs of this under-served segment.

Under "Assist" a loan product offers an end-to-end customised service-suit for loan life cycle management. Any employer can launch the program within two days because of Avail's ready-to-use technology infrastructure. This will help the employer's workforce get instant loans that have a repayment-holiday through the pandemic.

Similarly, "COVID-protection", an insurance product; will help gig economy workforce to insure themselves against any unfortunate event of hospitalisation. It will ensure that medical facilities can be availed in time and medical expenses do not burden them any further.

A bespoke version of "Assist" was implemented for the drivers of Ola recently which would cover over 100,000 families across the country. Under this scheme, Ola's pre-approved driver-partners are able to access loan amounts of up to Rs 3600, which is disbursed over the course of three weeks to help them pay for their day-to-day household expenses.

Avail Finance provides unsecured online loans, amongst other financial solutions to the gig-economy workforce of India, hitherto untapped and underserved by the traditional financial sector.