Blue-collar workers' platform Betterplace raises $10 million

Betterplace, which focuses on delivering blue-collar workforce management solutions, on Tuesday said it has raised USD 10 million (around Rs 74 crore) in a funding round led by Singapore's Jungle Ventures.

The new funding for an undisclosed stake will be used by the Bengaluru-based company to scale the platform and expand operations in India and overseas, it said in a statement.

The company, which has raised $16 million till now, serves over 1,000 enterprises which collectively employ over 20 lakh workers, Betterplace said.

It is targeting to double the number of enterprises served to 2,000 and take the overall workers up to 30 lakh by the end of 2020-21.

Existing investors Unitus Ventures, 3One4 Capital and Venture Highway also participated in the latest round of funding, it said.

The company which serves both enterprises and the workforce pegged the market opportunity it is serving at USD 30 billion to serve 450 million blue-collar workers in the country.

For enterprises, it offers a workforce management system with digital tools and services which provide employers a ready resource pool to hire from, completely automated onboarding, attendance management, real-time visibility on resource utilization and payroll management.

Upskilling, financial support and medical benefit programmes are the key focus for the solutions offered to the workforce, it said.

With the new funds, it plans to build its presence in new business verticals, expand footprint in the SME sector, and grow internationally, the statement said.

“The global blue-collar workforce space is expected to be USD 455 billion opportunity by 2023 and we are very excited to partner with Betterplace on this journey with them,” Jungle Ventures' founding partner Anurag Srivastava, who will also be joining the company's board after the investment, said.

Company's co-founder Pravin Agarwala said the pandemic has accelerated adoption of digital inputs and added that it is onboarding over 1.50 lakh people every month.