Blue collar workers’ lifecycle management firm, BetterPlace raises $3 M
The fresh funding will help the company expand its solutions into skilling, compliance, and fintech services.
BetterPlace Safety Solutions, a company that leverages technology and data analytics to manage blue collar workforce raised $3 million (Rs 20.4 crore) in its Series A Funding round that saw the participation of 3one4 Capital.
Existing investors Venture Highway and Unitus Ventures also participated in the round, said the Bengaluru based company in a statement. The fresh funding will help the company expand its solutions into skilling, compliance and fintech services as it aims to consolidate its position as a single platform for the semi-formal workforce in the country.
BetterPlace provides a digital platform for managing the lifecycle of blue collar employees, like onboarding, background verification, training, assessment and certification, attendance management, financial services like loans and insurance to employees.
Pravin Agarwala, co-founder and CEO, BetterPlace, said, “A significant part of the funds will be utilised to strengthen the existing ecosystem using frictionless solutions powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning”.
BetterPlace claims to have helped employers hire more than 1.5 million people with the right skills and credentials. They have also helped make 1.2 million people credit ready using their proprietary trust scoring algorithms, and are currently adding 8,000 new individuals daily.
“We are focused on addressing the $12 billion blue-collar ecosystem in the country. A significant part of the funds will be utilised to strengthen the existing ecosystem using frictionless solutions powered by AI and machine learning” said Agarwala.
The company seeks to address the nearly 450 million Indians working in the informal blue collar market comprising of various jobs such as security guards, drivers, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, housekeeping, domestic workers and construction workers.
The company had initially raised $970,000 (Rs 6.6 crore) in its seed funding round from India-focused early-stage investor Unitus Ventures in February 2016.
Saurabh Tandon, co-founder and COO, BetterPlace said, “The company is currently doing an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $4 million, with a monthly growth of 13-15 percent. It is seeing strong traction from logistics, on-demand, IT-ITES, schools, facility management, and private security verticals”.
“If you go by the current order book and projected growth, the firm is most likely to cross $15 million in net revenue over the next 18 months,” added Tandon.
"We are bullish about the growing informal economy in India, with the need to impact crores of people. The best way for social transformation is when people at the bottom of the pyramid can move up to the formal economy. BetterPlace has made tremendous progress since our last round, and we want to continue to be part of this success story" says Will Poole, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Unitus Ventures.