Marquee investors back Apna with USD70 mn

The series B round also saw participation from existing investors, Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC, a statement said.

With this investment Apna has now raised over $90 million and is now valued at $570 million, within 16 months of product launch, it added.

Apna will use the proceeds to strengthen its presence in existing cities and expand pan-India over the next six months, the statement said.

The team plans to double down on their edtech platform for skilling by continuing to invest in hiring exceptional talent and building world-class engineering and product capabilities, it added.

Additionally, Apna plans to expand to high potential international markets such as Southeast Asia and the US in the coming year.

“At Apna we are determined to take a fresh approach towards solving employment and skilling challenges for billions. Over the last month itself Apna has facilitated more than 15 mn job interviews and work related conversations where users have helped each other to start a business, find a gig or learn a new skill,” said Apna founder-CEO Nirmit Parikh.

Currently, the app comprises over 60 communities for skilled professionals like carpenters, painters, field sales agents and many others. The app allows users to access local job opportunities, network with peers, practice for interviews, share their accomplishments, and gain new skills.

Since its launch, it has garnered more than 10 million users and over one lakh employers are associated with the platform.

Over the past three months, Apna has doubled the number of Indian cities in which it is present to 14.

“We have been incredibly impressed with Apna’s stellar growth over the last year. They have built the market leading platform for India’s workforce to establish digital professional identity, network, access skills training, and find high-quality jobs,” Nikhil Sachdev, MD, Insight Partners, said.