A Nairobi-based employment tech start-up, Shortlist, has received Sh103 million ($1 million) seed funding from a group of US, Indian and Kenyan investors.
The tech start-up with offices in Nairobi, Mumbai and Hyderabad in India launched operations last year.
So far it has worked with over 30 SMEs including M-KOPA, Twiga Foods, Lendable, SunCulture and Greenlight Planet.
The firm screens candidates using predictive chat-based interviews and online competency-based assessments, letting employers skip time-consuming and bias-prone phases of hiring.
The funding came from US-based private equity (PE) firm University Ventures, Indian angel investor Samir Shah of Sattva Capital, Kenya-based seed fund Zephyr Acorn, global impact investor FARM Ventures, and US-based investor Bodley Group.
Shortlist Tuesday said it will use the funds to enhance its data-driven talent screening product which automates applicant vetting using online competency-based assessments.
Shortlist co-founder and chief executive Paul Breloff said the single biggest challenge for growing companies is finding the right talent to scale.
“We believe that both jobseekers and employers deserve a better way to find each other and gauge fitness. We’re thrilled to have a group of investors who share our desire to fix this broken talent marketplace,” he said noting that the mix of expertise across India, East Africa, and the US will add significant strategic value as the firm builds on its early traction.