India’s leading professional networking platform, Apna has $ 100 million in a Series C round by Tiger Global, making it to be the youngest firm to join the country’s unicorn club in the world’s second-largest internet market.

Apna’s growth over the recent months is what attracted the investors’ attention, as 16 million users had hopped on its 15-month old android app this year. These workers can use the Apna app to gain new skills and expand their job prospects. Apna has become one of the fastest-growing upskilling platforms, which may explain why GSV Ventures and Owl Ventures, two well-known edtech investors, have invested in the Bangalore-based company.

Since there are a lot of Indian citizens who are low-skilled workers from rural areas and not to mention the amount of people who lost their jobs during the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic. This caused a slow down to economic activities in the South Asian market.

It’s due to that reason platforms such as Apna have received much attention for they have constructed a platform that establishes a community to these workers. This community is all about engaging with one another, exchanging notes to perform better at interviews and share tips to negotiate better compensation.

Additionally, Apna helps connect these workers to potential employers.

How it got the name ‘Apna’ is simple, as it drew inspiration from a cheerful 2019 bollywood song. Another fact is that within 30 days it has facilitated 18 million jobs and is currently busy working in 28 cities.

“Apna's popularity is fueled by a revolutionary social and interactive strategy to link job seekers and businesses. We expect job searchers in search of meaningful relationships and vetted possibilities to fuel Apna's continued explosive expansion across India – and the world”, remarks Griffin Schroeder, partner at Tiger Global.

“We've already put a mark and now we want to make a difference in the lives of 2.3 billion people”, he states. “To deliver, we'll need a massive amount of money and a world-class workforce. It'll take a village to complete this massive undertaking. But someone needs to figure it out.”

The startup is now up and running. Now that the platform has begun to be monetized, the firm is set to expand quickly. Apna will continue to expand in India, according to Parikh, and will begin its global expansion early next year. According to Parikh, the company is looking to expand in the United States, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.