Apna, the employment platform startup, that helps India’s grey and blue-collar workers find jobs, has raised $70 million in a Series B round led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners at a valuation of $570 million. Existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Greenoaks Capital, Lightspeed India, and Rocketship VC participated in this round.
The company will use this fund to strengthen its presence in existing cities and expand pan-India over the next 6 months. The team plans to double down on their edtech platform for skilling by continuing to invest in hiring talent and building engineering and product capabilities. Additionally, Apna plans to expand to high potential international markets such as Southeast Asia and the United States in the coming year.
In March 2021, it had raised $12.5 Mn in an extended Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Greenoaks Capital. In August 2020, it raised $8 Mn in Series A funding round from Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC.
Apna was founded in December 2019 by Nirmit Parikh to offer a professional network of grey and blue-collar workers. The app comprises 60+ vertical communities for skilled professionals like carpenters, painters, field sales agents, and many others, where users get access to local job opportunities, network with peers, share their accomplishments, and gain new skills.
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When candidates fail an interview, Apna prompts the candidate to learn particular skills. It has categorized 4,000 skills, many of which are taught by partners or developed in-house.
The Bengaluru-based startup claims 10 Mn+ users and 100,000+ employers, relying on Apna to find appropriate job opportunities and talent respectively. Over the past three months, Apna claims to have doubled the number of Indian cities in which it is present to 14. It has also attracted top global and local talent from firms like Uber, BCG, and Swiggy. It competes with the likes of WorkIndia, Able Jobs, and MyKaam.
“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,” said Nikhil Sachdev, Managing Director, Insight Partners.
In addition, Apna has partnered with the National Skill Development Corporation, UNICEF Yuwaah, and the Ministry of Minority Affairs of India among others to provide skilling and job opportunities to candidates.
