Skillbee has secured $3.2 million in a seed funding round. The startup will use the money to expand its reach among migrant workers.
Skillbee, a startup that assists migrant workers in finding work, has acquired $3.2 million in venture funding from Good Capital and Vibe Capital.
Access Bridge Ventures, Wamda Capital, and Bharat Founders Fund participated in the round, as did Rahul Chaudhary from Treebo, Zishaan Hayath from Toppr, Vikram Chopra from Cars24, Saurabh Garg from NoBroker, and Harpreet Singh Grover from CoCubes.
Cofounder of Skillbee, Gautham Vinjamuri, said, “The fact that such illustrious investors and founder operators participated in this round of fundraising, as well as their faith in our goal and vision, demonstrates how critical the human capital issue is. We are grateful to our investors for putting their faith in us to provide answers and make a significant difference in the lives of migrant workers.”
Skillbee will use the money to expand its reach among migrant workers and double the number of employers that use it to hire. It also intends to expand the range of services available through the app.
Skillbee cofounder Ujjawal Chauhan stated that the company will invest capital in three areas: business expansion in India, introducing new services to the platform, and working with other companies to provide credit and insurance services to blue-collar workers.
Skillbee, which was founded in 2020 by Chauhan and Gautham Vinjamuri, connects foreign migrant workers with career opportunities. According to the business, over 500K migrant labourers have enrolled on its website.
It also says that over 20,000 businesses have signed up to use the app to hire labour from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and other African countries. Skillbee has also worked with ten brands in the UAE to hire migrant workers through its platform, according to Chauhan.
To meet UAE demand for delivery manpower, the firm is collaborating with training institutes to upskill workers.
While expanding its company in India, the firm will especially target job seekers in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, as these areas have seen an increase in the emigration of blue-collar employees to Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
According to Rohan Malhotra, Managing Partner of Good Capital, “India has one of the world’s largest human capital pools and demographic dividends, but we haven’t been able to provide appropriate chances to a significant section of the population. Countries’ borders are closing, and we believe Skillbee will be the go-to platform for connecting jobs in wealthy countries with employees in developing countries.”
