Professional Network for Blue Collar Workers Receives $8 Million in Series A Funding


Professional Network for Blue Collar Workers Receives $8 Million in Series A Funding

Bangalore: Apna, a Bangalore based platform aimed at connecting bottom of the pyramid, grey and blue collar workers with potential employers has raised $8 million in Series A funding ON Tuesday. This round of funding included existing investors backers Lightspeed India and Sequoia Capital along with new backers Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC. Currently functional in five Indian cities, Apna intends to use the funds to expand its presence across more cities in India while also adding in new job verticals such as accounting, customer service and nursing.

Founded by Nirmit Parikh, an ex-Apple Inc employee Apna intends to uplift the workers who form the backbone of the economy by providing them a platform to further their career. Aimed at first time internet users with limited tech skills the app generates a virtual ‘business card’ using basic information such as their name, age and skillset.

“There are over 250 million blue and grey collar workers in India. Apna has built a unique product where users quickly come together in professional communities, an unmet need so far,” said Harshjit Sethi, principal at Sequoia Capital India, in the note announcing the funding.

Founded in Dec 2019, Apna has so far amassed 1.2 million users in a short span of time. The application has so been leveraged by companies such as Swiggy, HDFC, BigBasket, Amazon, Byju’s, Fortis and Flipkart among others to make hires. Within the last 30 days, the application has facilitated over 12 lakh interviews between applicants and potential employees & over 30 lakh professional conversations.