Apna.co, a recruitment platform for grey and blue-collared workers, has raised $8 million (Rs 58 crore) in its Series A round of funding led by existing investors Lightspeed India and Sequoia Capital India.
The round also saw participation from new investors Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC, the platform said in a statement.
The Mumbai-based platform, operated by Apnatime Tech Pvt. Ltd, will utilise the funds to launch operations in multiple cities every month from now onwards.
"We want to uplift the workers who form the backbone of the economy and provide them a platform to grow in their career," said Nirmit Parikh, founder of Apna.co.
Parikh, who holds an MBA degree from Stanford, was earlier working with Apple Inc and Intel before launching this venture in December last year.
Apna.co comprises vertical communities for skilled professionals like carpenters, painters, field sales agents and many others.
It claims the users get access to local job opportunities, network with peers, share their accomplishments and gain new skills.
The company, which had previously raised $2 million from Sequoia and Lightspeed, says it has already attracted more than 1.2 million users.
"With internet usage in this demographic growing rapidly, further catalysed by the Jio effect, apps such as Apna can play a meaningful role in democratising access to employment and skilling," said Harshjit Sethi, principal at Sequoia Capital India.
The company is currently present in 5 cities and in the past one month has facilitated more than 1 million job interviews.
Apna.co competes with the likes of recruitment startups Able Jobs, MyKaam and WorkIndia.
Last month, Able Jobs, a hiring platform for entry-level jobs, raised Rs 13 crore in its seed round of funding led by multi-stage investor SAIF Partners.
Jobshob Tech Pvt. Ltd, which operates blue-collar employment and recruitment platform MyKaam, raised funding from startup incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts in June.
In February, WorkIndia, a job portal for blue-collar workers, raised Rs 42 crore from Chinese technology and consumer devices conglomerate Xiaomi.