Apna raises $70 million led by Insight Partners, Tiger Global

Apna, is a startup in India. It is a professional networking and job platform for blue and grey collar workers has raised $ 70 million in a Series B funding round led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global. Also participating in the round were existing investors, Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Greenoaks Capital, and Rocketship VC.

With that, Apna has raised over $ 90 million to date and is now valued at $ 570 million, within 16 months of the product launch.

The company will use the proceeds to strengthen its presence in existing cities and expand further over the next six months to help revitalize India's economy as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team plans to double down on its skills ed-tech platform by continuing to invest in hiring quality talent and building engineering and product capabilities. Apna also plans to expand into high-potential international markets such as Southeast Asia and the United States in the coming year.

"At Apna, we are determined to take a new approach to solve job and skills challenges for billions. During the same last month, Apna facilitated more than 15 million job interviews and job-related conversations in which users helped each other start a business, find a gig, or learn a new skill. We are still in the early stages of solving the problem and we are excited to continue this journey with the support of our new partners. " Nirmit Parikh, founder, and CEO of Apna.

Founded in 2019, Apna is a startup in India that connects people with opportunities and takes a technology-driven approach to harness the power of communities that have enabled its users to access better jobs and entrepreneurship.

The startup said this was crucial in a pandemic year in which labor markets were badly hit by intermittent shutdowns.

The app currently houses more than 60 communities of trained professionals including carpenters, painters, field sales agents, and more. It also allows users to access local job opportunities, network with colleagues, practice for interviews, share their achievements, and acquire new skills.

"We have been incredibly impressed by the impressive growth of our Apna over the past year. They have built the market-leading platform for the Indian workforce to create a digital professional identity, network, access skills training, and find jobs. quality. Employers are engaging with Apna at a rapid pace to help find high-quality talent with low friction, resulting in optimal customer satisfaction. We believe our investment will allow Apna to continue on its steep growth path, expand its operations and improve access to opportunities for the Indian workforce. " Nikhil Sachdev, Managing Director of Insight Partners.

Apna is one of the startups in India that has seen strong growth since its launch with 10 million users and 100,000 employers, relying on it to find the right job opportunities and talent, respectively.

In the last three months, ABNA has doubled the number of cities it is present to 14.

Griffin Schroeder, Partner at Tiger Global, said: "Apna's focus on digitizing the job search process, application, and employer-candidate interaction will revolutionize the hiring process. Apna's app helps workers too. to form professional networks and develop their skills. We are excited to partner with the team as they expand to new markets in India and abroad. "

Companies like Zomato, Burger King, Bharti-AXA, Delhivery, Teamlease, G4S Global, Shadowfax, and 1MG use Apna to meet critical recruiting needs.

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