Freelancers and small entrepreneurs will be able to lease small working spaces in Dhoby Ghaut under a new scheme.

The facility is operated by Workcentral, a company that focuses on creating professional co-working spaces.

People will be able to lease working space from as small as table space in a central lounge to a meeting room. The facility also offers lockers, Wi-Fi and printers.

The workspace serves the needs of freelancers and small business owners, who often just need a working space as opposed to an office, Ms Chua Soon Tzer, general manager with Workcentral, told The Straits Times.

The facility is in the Singapore Shopping Centre at Clemenceau Avenue. It is the firm's first facility here.

By leasing space on a short-term basis, these small operators can also avoid committing to office leases, which can last around two years.

"You don't even know whether your business can last two years… (whereas) our industry operates in a way that we do not tie our members down with (such) a contract term."

Moreover, freelancers and entrepreneurs can meet other small business owners and exchange ideas.

"A lot of times in this kind of journey, people feel a bit lonely, isolated. It's actually very healthy for people to come to this space whereby every day they talk to and meet people who are in similar situations as them."

The increasing number of people working as freelancers will drive demand for such workspaces, Ms Chua said. Studies have projected that in the United States, by 2020, 40 per cent of the workforce will be freelancers, she noted.

In Singapore, about 10.6 per cent of the workforce were freelancers the last time she checked, she said. This number is projected to grow as the next generation of workers enters the workforce.

Many young people entering the workforce are now choosing to do freelance work for different firms, she said. This is to find out what marketable skills they have and what they are passionate about, she said.