Indian HR tech firm to invest up to $20m for SEA expansion

India-based BetterPlace, a tech platform for blue-collar workforce management, is set to invest US$15 million to US$20 million in fresh capital to expand into Southeast Asia.

Photo credit: BetterPlace

Initially targeting Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, the expansion is expected to take place between early and mid-2022, BetterPlace CEO Pravin Agarwala told Tech in Asia.

Founded in 2015, BetterPlace provides full-stack workforce management solutions to over 1,000 enterprises, offering the flexibility to hire and manage employees virtually. It focuses on semi-skilled or unskilled workers, including security guards, cleaners, janitors, drivers, and delivery personnel, among others.

The company caters to firms operating in facility management, private security, logistics, ecommerce, information technology, banking and financial services, retail, manufacturing, and on-demand spaces.

In September, BetterPlace raised US$24 million in its series C round. A sizable portion from this round will also be invested in expansion plans.

The money from its latest fundraise, which is slated over the next 18 months, could also be used for inorganic growth activities, including the acquisition of local firms in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

BetterPlace will use about 30% to 40% of the fresh funds to invest in its tech platform. Meanwhile, the rest will be allocated for its go-to-market strategy and customer acquisition, among others.

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The India-based platform chose Indonesia as its first target market due to the similarities between the two economies in terms of tech.

“Technological innovation is well-accepted and adopted in Indonesia, which gives us the leverage to tap into that market,” said Agarwala. He added that the company could also enter Malaysia, depending on the response in Indonesia and the Philippines over the next six to 18 months.

BetterPlace has onboarded nearly 1,400 customers to date, and it aims to upskill 20 million users in the next 24 months. With marquee customers such as Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, and Dunzo, it aims to grow its business 10x by 2023.