Sorolikoron: Simplifying your life by outsourcing errands

Although Tushar Shahadat currently teaches in the United Kingdom, he can still complete all his tasks in Dhaka without setting foot in the country. If he loses any necessary documents, he has someone file a general diary at a local police station. If he needs to collect any certificates, he can get someone to pick them up too. 

His life has been simplified to a great degree, thanks to a group of young people who run errands for him in exchange for a small fee. The organisation goes by the name 'Sorolikoron' (simplification) and was founded by Mohammad Arafat Hossain. 

The business model was born out of his own experiences after coming to Dhaka in 2019. Arafat often had to help out many of his hometown acquaintances and relatives with errands — from accompanying someone to the hospital to going to Nilkhet to print various documents.

One day, Arafat realised many others could not get their work done remotely. 

"Not everyone has someone in Dhaka that they can trust. As a result, they have to spend a lot of money to come to Dhaka for important work, and it sometimes takes a few days. If they knew someone in Dhaka, that person could have easily done the work. So, I thought of forming a team of people who would run personal errands for others in return for a small fee," he said.

Thus, the 'Sorolikoron Community' was born at the beginning of last year. Arafat had initially tested the feasibility of his idea through Facebook posts, surveys and personal conversations.

Their activities officially began on 10 February 2023 through a post on a Dhaka University social media group. "I posted on Facebook on the 10th that we would start operations the next day. But that day, a brother called and said he needed help immediately. So I had to start the service that very day," he added.

Satisfactory demand for the services prompted Arafat to open the Sorolikoron Facebook page. 

Initially, their activities were only centred on Dhaka University, providing services for the various needs of current and former students. They would run to the registrar's building to collect certificates, and hospitals to collect reports, and receive or send parcels on behalf of students. 

As gaining trust was the most important part of his business model, Arafat gave the utmost importance to credibility in selecting representatives of Sorolikoron, prioritising those who were involved in various volunteer activities. 

Those interested in availing Sorolikoron's services primarily knock them through the Facebook page. The page provides their WhatsApp number and email address too and the team has recently launched a website.

Arafat said that Sorolikoron provides customised services; the service recipient can provide conditions, and they will work according to those conditions. 

"Someone called and said that a document has to be sent to a certain place right after Jummah. Now, couriers will not consider personal conveniences, but we can do that," Arafat added.

"The fees we charge can range from Tk100 to Tk1,000 or even more. Sometimes, in addition to our fees, there are other expenses. Perhaps someone has remaining dues, or in the case of a particular job, the fee must be deposited at the office. These details are clarified in advance," he explained.

Power of attorney must be granted to them to pick up certificates. They then collect the documents on behalf of the person. In many cases, important work requires the service recipient's contact information, address, voter ID card information and photo to confirm their identity. 

Mohammad Imam Hossain studies at the Department of History and Culture of Islam at Dhaka University. He enjoys working as a member of Sorolikoron. He said that Sorolikoron has already been quite successful. "Everyone is getting a lot of help. The work we are doing cannot be done even by paying a lot of money. We, the members of Sorolikoron, work with a lot of sincerity," he added.

Although Sorolikoron has provided various services to many people in Dhaka, they are currently active mainly on the Dhaka University campus. However, the members of Sorolikoron expressed their determination to work on other university campuses and in other parts of the country, gradually making their activities in Dhaka more organised.

"We need to strongly manage our team on the Dhaka University campus before going to other campuses. Many people from a few campuses have expressed their interest. However, we have provided services informally, but we have not yet gone formal. There is definitely a plan," they said.

They started the programme with 12 people. As the number of orders increased, new members were added. All of them are students at different sessions of Dhaka University. They said that the number would increase in the future.

"Our team is very big. We have members in all the halls. We have members in the girls' halls. We also have members in Mohammadpur, Uttara and Mirpur. When we go to other campuses, we will have representatives on other campuses as well. However, in that case, we will only add students," said Arafat.