Apna raises $70 million led by Insight Partners, Tiger Global
2 min read 16 Jun 2021, 08:47 AM ISTApna, which is a professional networking and jobs platform for blue-and-grey collar workers, has now raised over $90 million so far and is now valued at $570 million, within 16 months of the product launch
PremiumBENGALURU: Apna, a professional networking and jobs platform for blue-and-grey collar workers, has raised a $70 million in a Series B funding round led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global. Existing investors, Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC also participated in the round.
With this, Apna has raised over $90 million so far and is now valued at $570 million, within 16 months of the product launch.
The firm will use the proceeds to strengthen its presence in existing cities and expand further over the next six months to help restart India’s economy as it recovers from the covid-19 pandemic.
The team plans to double down on its edtech platform for skilling by continuing to invest in hiring good talent and building engineering and product capabilities. Apna also plans to expand to high potential international markets such as south east Asia and U.S in the coming year.
“At Apna we are determined to take a fresh approach towards solving employment and skilling challenges for billions. Over the last month itself Apna has facilitated more than 15 million job interviews and work related conversations where users have helped each other to start a business, find a gig or learn a new skill. We are still in the early stages of solving the problem and are excited to continue on this journey with the backing of our new partners." Nirmit Parikh, founder and CEO, Apna.
Founded in 2019, Apna connects people to opportunities and has a tech-driven approach to harness the power of communities which has enabled access to better jobs and entrepreneurship for its users.
The startup said this has been crucial in a pandemic year which has seen severe disruption to the labour markets due to intermittent lockdowns.
The app currently comprises over 60 communities for skilled professionals such as carpenters, painters, field sales agents and many others. It also allows users to access local job opportunities, network with peers, practice for interviews, share their accomplishments, and gain new skills.
“We have been incredibly impressed with Apna’s stellar growth over the last year. They have built the market leading platform for India’s workforce to establish digital professional identity, network, access skills training, and find high quality jobs. Employers are engaging with Apna at a rapid pace to help find high quality talent with low friction which is leading to best in class customer satisfaction scores. We believe that our investment will enable Apna to continue their steep growth trajectory, scale up their operations, and improve access to opportunities for India’s workforce." Nikhil Sachdev, managing director, Insight Partners.
Apna has witnessed strong growth since its launch with 10 million users and 100,000 employers, relying on it to find appropriate job opportunities and talent respectively.
Over the past three months, Apna has doubled the number of cities in which it is present to 14.
Griffin Schroeder, partner, Tiger Global said, “Apna’s focus on digitizing the process of job discovery, application and employer candidate interaction has the potential to revolutionize the hiring process. The Apna app also helps workers form professional networks and upskill themselves. We are excited to partner with the team as they expand to new markets in India and abroad."
Companies such as Zomato, Burger King, Bharti-AXA, Delhivery, Teamlease, G4S Global, Shadowfax and 1MG use Apna to address their critical hiring needs.
