Kiidu: The first online company to provide caregivers in Thailand

Kiidu is the first online company in South East Asia to provide caregivers on demand. We had the opportunity to meet the founder, Mrs. Alfiah Strohal, a mom who has experiences dealing with nannies in Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Hello Mrs. Alfiah, could you briefly introduce yourself and the concept of Kiidu?

I am a single-mom and I moved from Dubai to Bangkok and it was really hard for me to find a nanny for my kids. Actually, the concept is based on my own experiences. Indeed, I am new in Bangkok and there are many things that needed to be done such as your kids’ school, accommodation, shopping etc… You can only ask internet for help which is a time consuming and therefore, you quickly need someone to help you.

I would like to help other moms who struggle to find a nanny for their loved ones so I created Kiidu, an online platform that connects parents with qualified and trustworthy caregivers easily. Kiidu transformed the traditional way of how the caregiver industry worked by bringing in technology and making the process easier and much quicker. Now, it is possible for customers like expats, local residents or tourists to get caregivers who can speak the same language, select the age category and the convenient timings.

Why did you choose to open your business in Thailand?

I moved from Bali to Bangkok because this city is small and unique. There are many locals, expats, and tourists in Bangkok who are struggling to find a nanny and I see a big opportunity, needs and demands, that is why I wanted to help them to get an easy access.

What types of services do you offer?

We offer several services such as nanny, maid, senior caregivers, tutor and pet caregivers as well. Generally, helpers in Asia can be anything.

How many people do you employ?

We act as a connector and we don’t employ them with 2000 caregivers in our database. Kiidu is based in Bangkok and provides services all over Thailand. Recently we have extended our services to Indonesia. We have reached a database almost 2000 employees right now ranging from nannies, senior caregivers, tutors for children and domestic helpers. The database shows a remarkable mixture of skills and talents. The employees are from many nationalities knowing different languages and with wide variety of skill-sets.

How do you select them? Are there any specific criteria to take into account?

We do interviews, references check. We conduct some extra workshops as well. You can become a nanny as long as you are passionate about kids. For instance, in Europe, many students can earn extra money by doing babysitting and that is why I wanted to create the same concept in Asia.

How do we apply to become a caregiver?

Caregivers and nannies can apply online through our website www.kiidu.com. After that, we interview all the nannies ourselves in our office in order to guarantee the highest quality of our caregivers. After being qualified, we make a video profile for them and post it on our website. For example, French people can go on the website to see their profiles and select the nanny they want.

What types of clients do you receive?

The majority of our clients is Thai and the second is French community. However, they are also from many other countries like India, England, United States etc… We serve many families but also single households. At that, we also work with companies, hotels, and event managers.

Do your nannies speak English or French?

Most of our nannies speak English and Thai. Of course, we have some nannies who speak Indian because there are many Nepalese. Some nannies can speak more than one language like Chinese or French but it is limited.

Did you face any difficulties?

Yes of course, I am new here in Bangkok and it is a new culture for me because I have lived for many years in Europe, Middle East and then I came back to Asia. Based on my experiences, the culture was the main issue.

Address: 63 Bangkok Ekkamai, 1323/2, Sukhumvit Rd. Watthana, Bangkok 10110  
Phone: +66 97 234 8490  /  Email: [email protected]

Interview realized by Eléonore Bon and Olivia Harang and Amélie Euasine.