Jakarta, Indonesia, 18 January 2022 – MyRobin.ID, a workforce-as-a-service marketplace in Indonesia, announced today that it has raised a pre-Series A round led by Accion Venture Lab and SOSV with participation from Investible, Khoo Investment, Seedstars, Vulpes Investment Management, Brightness Capital, Astor Management, and Bansea. Existing investor Antler also joined the round.
MyRobin’s platform aims to address the many issues that Indonesia’s blue-collar workers face in finding fair employment opportunities and accessing financial services. Blue-collar workers in this market are usually high-school graduates or diploma holders without any formal training. They are usually paid in cash and unable to access traditional financial services.
These workers typically lack access to laptops and CVs, barriers that make it challenging for companies to screen them for required job skills. Moreover, workers in this market do not use online employment platforms in their job searches, creating obstacles for companies that rely on Human Resources staff to source workers. MyRobin streamlines the hiring process by screening workers who register on the MyRobin app. Businesses are then able to immediately hire MyRobin-approved workers such as warehouse workers, packers, sorters, and couriers. MyRobin’s workforce management platform allows workers to digitally sign contracts, submit timesheets, and receive payments. MyRobin also offers embedded financial services such as early wage access, micro insurance, and “buy now, pay later” options that they would otherwise be unable to access through traditional financial service providers.
Launched in August 2020, MyRobin has more than 2.8 million workers in its network. Demand from businesses has been strong, resulting in a 27-fold increase in 2021 over 2020. More than 250 enterprises use their services, including Shopee, Lazada, Anteraja, and Shipper.
“We are excited to accelerate the expansion of our team and fuel growth,” said Siddharth Kumar, MyRobin co-founder, and CEO. “We are giving businesses the necessary flexibility to scale up manpower by thousands within a day, a crucial ability for companies that need to operate with more flexibility in this ‘new normal.’ We also give workers more than a paycheque, we give them peace of mind — they can earn and learn on the MyRobin platform by finding a job, then enjoying a suite of benefits and discounts to support their most basic needs.”
“In Indonesia’s fast-growing economy, millions of workers face barriers to steady and fair employment, which jeopardizes their financial security,” said Michael Schlein, President, and CEO of Accion. “In creating an inclusive, holistic platform that expands workers’ access to job opportunities, training, and financial services, MyRobin is building resilience for Indonesia’s workers and small businesses alike.”
“MyRobin has heralded a new era of work, an era when people can improve their relationship with work and take pride in the flexibility, independence, and security it offers. Having worked with the company since 2020, we’re proud to continue to offer our support as MyRobin goes on to build Indonesia’s future-proof workforce,” shares William Bao Bean, General Partner at SOSV, Managing Director of SOSV MOX.
“By providing a holistic suite of products and embedded financial services, MyRobin is changing the experience of blue-collar workers and increasing resilience through much needed financial support,” said Paolo Limcaoco, Principal at Accion Venture Lab. “We are excited at how MyRobin is redefining the nature of work for blue-collar workers and are looking forward to partnering with Sid, Ardy, and the team to expand their impact across more workers in Indonesia.”
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About MyRobin
MyRobin provides Indonesian businesses with on-demand, pre-screened, blue-collar workers on a long and short-term basis in Indonesia. The platform tracks workers’ daily attendance, performance, and all payments are processed via the MyRobin platform. MyRobin charges a management fee as a percentage on the total labour cost. MyRobin also provides worker benefits like Early Wage Access, micro-insurance, discounts on daily needs, and access to vocational training, to boost retention and productivity.
About Accion Venture Lab
Accion Venture Lab is a leading early-stage impact investor in inclusive fintech startups. We believe that affordable, well-designed financial services enable economic growth and prosperity for underserved populations in the world. Accion Venture Lab invests globally in the most innovative models and technologies delivering quality financial services to underserved households and small businesses with the potential to scale. Backed by commercial and impact investors since the launch of its third-party fund in 2019, Accion Venture Lab has invested in more than 55 early-stage startups that operate in 35 countries worldwide. Accion Venture Lab is a part of Accion, a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. Accion catalyzes financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of – or poorly served by – the financial sector. For 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 170 partners in 55 countries. For further information, visit accion.org/venturelab.
About SOSV
SOSV MOX is a deeply resourced startup development program for enterprise-tech and consumer-tech, with over 240 corporate partners and 100M consumers in its ecosystem. The program is a part of SOSV, a US venture capital fund with more than US$1 billion in assets under management and over 1120 portfolio companies as of October 2021. SOSV’s internet portfolio includes crypto-product trading platform BitMEX, Google-backed AI English pronunciation assistant ELSA, Samsung-backed video publisher Flickstree, APAC’s online tutoring platform Snapask, and China’s luxury brand management group Ushopal.
