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Blue-collar Workforce Management Platform Smartstaff Raises $6.2M in New Funding Round

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Blue-collar workforce management platform Smartstaff said that it has raised $6.2 million from investors including Nexus Venture Partners, Arkam Ventures, Blume Ventures and Alteria Capital. Smartstaff founder and CEO Arpit Dave told that the funding included a $5,00,000 loan from Alteria Capital.

Alteria Capital was the only new investor in the funding round. The company, which previously raised $4.3 million in October 2021, provides recruiting, workforce management and retention solutions for mid-sized and large manufacturing companies. Since its inception in 2021, the Bangaluru-based Smartstaff has recruited, trained and hired nearabout 11,000 blue-collar workers from 50 manufacturers, helping workers collectively earn more than 100 million rupees in wages.

Sameer Brij Verma, managing director, Nexus Venture Partners, said, “We at Nexus are very excited to partner again with Runnr’s founding team to re-imagine blue-collar recruitment and staffing for over 100 million workers in the country. Via their new-age work-force management platform, SmartStaff aims to drive game-changing efficiencies in the way manufacturing and supply chain companies source, retain, upskill, pay and incentivise their staff.’’

Manufacturers working with Smartstaff have increased production per employee by 20-30 percent and reduced absenteeism by 30 percent, according to a Smartstaff statement. Dave told that about 70% of the Bengaluru-based company’s business comes from the textile industry, about 15-20% from the warehousing and consumer sector and about 8-10% from the metal industry, where it has entered. recently Its customers include Raymonds, Cotton World, SuperDry and Marks and Spencers.

Dave added that the company will use the new capital to expand into new geographies away from the core market of South India, invest in strategic projects including new verticals and invest in capabilities. Services offered by Smartstaff include payroll, compliance, instant salary advancement, loans, holiday bonuses, live chat support, emergency SOS feature and a helpline for women employees.

“We are excited to double our investment in SmartStaff as they transform workforce management and procurement systems that can disrupt the hiring and management of manufacturing workers,” said Sameer Brij Verma Partners, Director of Nexus Venture.

With a current staff-count of 60, the startup was founded in February 2021 by Dave, Viral Chhajer, Gnanesh Chilukuri and Aravind Reddy. This is the second project of the 140-member team. They sold their previous startup Runnr to Zomato in 2018. Smartstaff is a highly emerging startup operating in the broader human resources management segment in the country.