Apna.co, a vertical professional networking platform on Tuesday said that it has raised $12.5 million led by Sequoia Capital India and Greenoaks Capital. Existing investors, Lightspeed India and Rocketship.VC also participated in the round.
The funds raised will be used to strengthen the platform’s presence in existing cities, expand into new geographies, invest in exceptional talent, as well as build sophisticated engineering and product capabilities, the company said.
Founded in 2019, Apna.co helps expanding grey and blue-collar workers unlock professional, networking and skilling opportunities. The app comprises of vertical communities for skilled professionals like carpenters, painters, field sales agents and many others. Users in the app get access to local job opportunities, can network with peers, practice interviews together, share their accomplishments, and gain new skills.
Apna said that it has over six million users and 80,000+ recruiters and claims to have grown over 50X in the last eight months alone.
“Over the last 6 months we have facilitated 16 Million+ recruiter-candidate interactions and 30 Million+ work-related conversations where users have helped each other to start a business, find a gig or learn a new skill,” said Nirmit Parikh, Founder & CEO, Apna.
Apna is also helping job seekers with interview preparation and upskilling in verticals like accounting and beauty.
“Apna has taken a jobs-centric approach to upskilling that we are very excited about. Lack of accountability has been the core issue with current skill / vocational learning alternatives for grey and blue-collar workers. Apna has turned the problem on its head by creating net-positive job outcomes for anyone who chooses to upskill on the platform,” said Vaibhav Agrawal, Partner at Lightspeed India.
On the employer end, Apna’s data science-led algorithm helps it match candidates with its enterprise and small business recruiters. Several companies including Urban Company, Kirloskar, Zomato work with Apna for its speed, relevancy, hiring and excellent customer support.
Apna currently serves users in seven cities in India including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Ranchi, Pune and Ahmedabad. It plans to expand into new metros and tier two cities in India this year and has plans to expand internationally in South East Asia and the US too. The company raised $8 million in Series A in September 2020.
