Apna.co, a Bengaluru-based global recruitment platform for blue/grey collar workforce, announced that it has raised $8 million in Series A funding from existing investors Lightspeed India and Sequoia Capital India.
Other investors that participated in the funding round include Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship.vc.
Founded in 2019 by Nirmit Parikh, Apna comprises vertical communities for skilled professionals like carpenters, painters, and field sales agents among others, providing them with access to local job opportunities, and networking with peers along with the ability to gain new skills.
Earlier, Apna had raised about $2 million from Lightspeed India and Sequoia Capital India. The platform claims to have more than 1.2 million users on its platform.
“The most powerful thing for me about Apna is its communities — I’ve seen people help each other start a business, learn a new language, or find a gig. Communities rely on trust and make the model infinitely scalable” said Vaibhav Agrawal, Partner at Lightspeed India Partners Advisors.
Currently present in five cities, Apna says that it has facilitated more than 1 million job interviews in the past 30 days, registering a three-fold jump on a monthly basis. The company plans to use the funds raised to expand to more blue and grey collar verticals, foray into new cities.and strengthen its leadership team.
“There are over 250 million blue and grey collar workers in India at present and providing meaningful employment opportunities to this segment is one of the biggest challenges in our country,” said Harshjit Sethi, Principal at Sequoia Capital India “With internet usage in this demographic growing rapidly, further catalysed by the Jio effect, apps such as Apna can play a meaningful role in democratizing access to employment and skilling”.
–AN
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.