Borderless raises funds, X tries again, and more news from the job board industry

September 12, 2023
JobBoardDoctor
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Borderless raises funds It’s another month and we get to see how Borderless raises funds, X tries to do job ads, and Recruiter.com is selling their domain. Just as lively as last month, to my mind. And yes, there were a few acquisitions and some up and down financials. Let’s take a closer look:

Borderless raises funds: Borderless, a UK-based startup that’s taking aim at the country’s shortage of care workers has today announced a £2.5 million seed funding round. The startup offers care providers automated vetting and sourcing, one-click visa processing, and streamlined relocation management services. According to the company, its offer not only provides workers with clear oversight over the recruitment process, thereby minimizing the opportunity for nefarious parties to get involved, but also gives employers a streamlined solution that reduces both the costs and risk involved with hiring international staff. For the moment Borderless is focusing on care providers with up to 500 employees. Great idea.
Indeed helps LGBTQ employees: Indeed is offering a $10,000 relocation benefit to U.S. employees who seek gender-affirming care but live in locations that restrict access to such care. The site said the benefit is intended to support employees who live in areas where gender-affirming care is criminalized or otherwise restricted by state laws, government-issued directives, mandates or orders. Smart move!
New freelancer marketplace launches: Pakistan-based recruitment marketplace Rozee.pk has launched a new fintech freelancer marketplace Azadee.pk to connect skilled workers with companies looking for on-demand workforce. Rozee.pk noted 30% drop in new hiring by employers over the past 16 months. Azadee.pk follows the rollout of Rizq by Rozee — an app to help freelancers in financial planning — and the group’s experiments with employer-of-record services. Congrats!
LocumTenens acquires Inlightened: LocumTenens.com has acquired Inlightened, a Boston-based firm that connects client companies — such as companies evaluating new technology, new products or conducting market research and need healthcare expertise — with a network of healthcare professionals providing on-demand consultation. “Clinicians are increasingly seeking alternative ways of practicing medicine that align better with their individual preferences and schedules and that provide autonomy and control that contributes to work-life balance,” according to the acquisition announcement by the company. Interesting move.
X gets serious about jobs?: X, formerly Twitter, has taken the next step in its foray into the recruitment space, offering access to the beta version of its hiring service. Chad Sowash of the Chad and Cheese podcast, which covers HR issues, said, “It still feels like Facebook Jobs all over again…I personally think this X Hiring thing is going to go the way of the dodo, much like Facebook Jobs did.” Yep, what Chad said.
Seek New Zealand ads ebb: Job ad volumes in New Zealand declined by 26% in July compared to the same period a year ago, according to data from job board Seek. Seek job ads declined 4% month-on-month in July. At the same time, job ads are now just 1% higher than in July 2019. However, applications per job ad rose 11% in June 2023 compared to May 2023 and are now at the highest level on record. Good news, bad news.
CakeResume raises funds: CakeResume announced it has raised $5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by returning investor Mynavi, one of Japan’s largest human resources companies, and will be used to expand in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and India. Based in Taipei, Taiwan, the company currently has 5 million users around the world, and more than 7,000 clients who use it to source job candidates. The platform has seen a lot of traction in Indonesia, where it now has 1.8 million users, and also has significant user bases in Taiwan and India. Intriguing.
Grupa Pracuj Q2 revenue up: Grupa Pracuj, the parent company of a number of Eastern European job board brands, reported consolidated revenue today for the second quarter of PLN 184.3 million (€41.2 million), an increase of 33.4% when compared to the same period a year ago. This increase in H1 resulted primarily from consolidation of the German group softgarden (acquired last year), rebuilding revenue in the Ukrainian market, and a steadily growing number of customers using the SaaS (software-as-a-service) model in Poland and Western Europe. The company said it saw a noticeable increase in recruitment activity in Ukraine during the H1 2023 period amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Good news?
Naukri drives InfoEdge profit: Info Edge India Ltd., the parent company of Naukri and 99Acres, posted INR5.8 billion ($70.4 million U.S.) for the three months ending June 30 (Q1 FY23-24). Recruitment vertical Naukri continued to be the primary revenue driver, accounting for 76.4% of Info Edge’s total revenue, at INR4.5 billion. The recruitment site’s revenue grew by 15.3% y-o-y. Congrats!
Howdy.com acquired GeekHunter: Howdy.com, a platform that enables US companies to employ Latin American IT professionals, acquired GeekHunter, a company that provides US firms with IT pros from Brazil. The deal will add nearly 400,000 registered candidates to Howdy.com’s platform. Both brands and executive teams will remain separate though they will share resources. The companies anticipate reaching $35 million in revenue by 2024. Howdy.com is based in Austin, Texas, and has six offices in Latin America, while GeekHunter is based in Florianópolis, Brazil. Good luck!
Glints reports record revenue: Glints, a talent platform based in Singapore, reported record high revenue in FY 2022 with growth fuelled by companies ‘increasingly adopting a borderless mindset’ and a growing demand for cross-border talent. The company announced an 85% increase in annual revenue as well as a 110% increase in gross profits when compared to the same period a year ago. The company also found that the demand stems from several factors, including talent scarcity, high costs, and belt-tightening measures by some companies. Well done.
Recruiter.com sells its domain: Recruitment outsourcing company Job Mobz has agreed to acquire “key intellectual property” of Recruiter.com, including its domain name, in a deal involving an initial payment of $1.5 million in cash. Under the new agreement, Recruiter.com entrusts Job Mobz with the management of its job board, its Recruiter Marketplace and its online leadership training program. Recruiter.com, which has run net losses over the last eight quarters, including just under $1 million during Q2 2023, has announced major changes over the last year in an effort to make a profit. Hmm.
Freelance.com revenue is up: French talent platform Freelance.com reported revenue of €210.9 million for the second quarter ended 30 June 2023, an increase of 5% when compared to the same period a year ago. In the first half period, the group’s revenue amounted to €419.4 million, up 10% compared to the 1st half of 2022. Q2 growth was a deceleration from the 15% achieved in Q1. Freelance.com also announced that it is set to finalise the acquisition of the OpenWork group. Congrats!