Sonu Sood’s job search app Pravasi Rojgar to form JV with Singapore’s Temasek; raises Rs 250 crore

Singapore-government owned investment firm Temasek’s job search platform for blue-collar workers GoodWorker has partnered with Bollywood actor Sonu Sood’s job search app for migrant workers Pravasi Rojgar to create a joint venture. GoodWorker has also made an initial investment of Rs 250 crore (around $34 million) into the new platform, it announced late Wednesday. Sood, who earned the national spotlight for helping migrants reach their homes during the Covid-induced lockdown, had launched the Pravasi Rojgar app in July this year to support them in finding skill-based jobs. Launched in partnership with edtech and skilling company Schoolnet India (formerly IL&FS Education and Technology Services), Pravasi Rojgar already has 10 lakh job seekers and employers including Amazon, Max Healthcare, Portea, Sodexo, Urban Company, etc. Temasek is among leading investors in large Indian technology startups such as Zomato, Curefit, Ola, Pine Labs, etc.

The joint venture has targeted to “reach 10 crore Indians by providing access to good jobs and career progression through upskilling services, followed by financial, healthcare and social security services,” GoodWorker said in a statement. Pravasi Rojgar’s scope through the tie-up is “now being expanded beyond job matching in partnership with GoodWorker, building on the combined strengths in migrant outreach, education, skilling, and technology.” The joint venture will formally launch its product offerings in early 2021.

Also read: Unacademy’s valuation soars to $2 billion with latest investment from Tiger Global, Dragoneer

“This partnership will help in realising 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 institutionalise and scale Pravasi Rojgar’s humanitarian efforts,” said Sood. For employers, the platform would allow them “effectively expand their operations by finding the right talent,” Pradyumna Agrawal, Board Member, GoodWorker. Temasek’s job search portal also offers blue-collar workers with a digital, verifiable profile to make their job search more efficient while making the credentials more authentic for employers to confidently hire them.

According to Betterplace — a technology platform for blue-collar employee management — around 14 lakh blue-collar jobs are likely to be created in 2020 which would be 70 per cent of the overall demand levels in 2019. Moreover, 80 per cent of the overall demand will come from the gig economy while the recovery will be faster in specific gig economy sectors and would be led by Tier-II and III, the company said in its blue-collar jobs report launched in September this year. The total job losses were estimated at more than 10 lakhs due to Covid while the income loss was pegged at Rs 2467 crore per month.