[Funding Alert] Sonu Sood's Pravasi Rojgar Receives $34Mn Funding From GoodWorker The digital platform aims to reach 100 million Indians by providing access to good jobs and career progression through upskilling services, followed by financial, healthcare, and social security services
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Digital job matching platform GoodWorker on Wednesday announced to have invested $34 million in Pravasi Rojgar—Sonu Sood and Schoolnet's job portal for blue-collared workers.
Launched in early 2020 by Sood along with Schoolnet, Pravasi Rojgar is an employment portal for job-seekers, especially migrants, after millions lost jobs during the pandemic.
The digital platform aims to reach 100 million Indians by providing access to good jobs and career progression through upskilling services, followed by financial, healthcare, and social security services.
The initiative claims to help employers in recruiting and retaining verified blue-collar workers, which will result in productivity gains, improved profitability, and sustainable operations.
"This partnership will help in realizing my dream of providing a better life and securing a livelihood for millions of youth. I am fortunate to partner with this socially relevant technology platform, as it helps institutionalize and scale Pravasi Rojgar's humanitarian efforts," said Sood, founder, Pravasi Rojgar, whose philanthropic services for migrant workers have been widely recognized.
The job portal uses decentralized technology built by Affinidi, also founded by Singapore investment company Temasek, and will provide workers and their families with digital identities and verifiable credentials. They will have greater control of their data and improved access to employment opportunities and life-empowering services.
"The cutting-edge technology that GoodWorker brings will allow businesses in India to effectively expand their operations by finding the right talent, and also allow workers to have control over their data while widening access to digital products and services," commented Pradyumna Agrawal, board member, GoodWorker, while announcing the partnership. "With digital transformation accelerating against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, GoodWorker's investment reflects our optimism towards trends in India that are underpinned by technology and digitalization."
The platform's scope is now being expanded beyond job matching in partnership with GoodWorker, building on the combined strengths in migrant outreach, education, skilling, and technology. The strategy centers around a core digital platform supported by Schoolnet's physical network spread across India. The joint venture will formally launch its product offerings early next year.
Investment banking firm Ekam Advisors has been instrumental in bringing all the partners together and advised on the strategy for this initiative.
"Schoolnet, as a market leader in education and skilling services, reaching more than 1 crore students, youth and enterprises, along with its deep domain knowledge and execution track record, is uniquely positioned to realize this mission of creating a community of an empowered blue-collar workforce," added R.C.M. Reddy and K.K. Iyer, board members, Schoolnet.
The platform maintains that this partnership is expected to complement the government's initiatives to spur economic growth, create employment opportunities, and support inclusive development through the use of technology at scale.
