Smartstaff, the Blume Ventures / Nexus VP-backed blue collar workforce management and recruitment platform, has raised a fresh $6.2Mn in Series A from existing and new investors. The startup has now raised $10.5 million, with participation from Nexus Ventures, Arkam Ventures, Blume Ventures, and Alteria Capital. From the same group of investors, it had previously raised $4.3Mn in seed funding in 2021.
Arpit Dave, Viral Chhajer, Gnanesh Chilukuri, and Aravind Reddy founded Smartstaff in 2020 to make it simpler for firms to hire and manage their blue-collar workforce.
While decreasing attrition and absenteeism (which are up to 30% and 20%, respectively, at the shift level at the average manufacturing plant), as well as improving the workers’ visibility into payouts, statutory contributions, and their timesheets, this company’s user-friendly mobile-based workforce management and staffing solution helps industries in upgrading from legacy processes.
The startup has changed its focus slightly to concentrate on the manufacturing sector, which accounts for the majority of the creation of blue-collar jobs in India. Smartstaff claims that 11,000 workers have been successfully hired, trained, and placed in 50 different manufacturing companies over the last two years. As a result, 3 million shifts have been made possible, and as a result, workers have collectively earned over 100 crores in wages.
On the recent fundraise, Arpit Dave, one of the co-founders and CEO, said, “This investment serves as a testament to the immense value and potential that Smartstaff brings to India’s growing manufacturing industry. With the unwavering support of our investors, we are well-positioned to revolutionize and streamline the traditional staffing landscape”.
India’s manufacturing sector is expected to grow consistently at 8–10% over this decade, making it a promising industry for Smartstaff. The startup also offers post-recruitment services like payroll management and helping with recruiting, allowing it to increase the revenue lifecycle for every customer.
From the employees‘ perspective, the platform provides several benefits such as instant advance salary, loans, leave bonuses, live chat support, an emergency SOS feature, and a specific helpline for female employees’ needs. Their ability to retain employees and reduce attrition by half of the industry standard is directly due to their commitment to the well-being of their workforce.
