Stockholm-based Impactpool, an AI-enabled profession platform, introduced on Tuesday that it has secured $4M (roughly €3.6M) in a Collection A funding spherical led by Mediahuis and Fort Knox.
The corporate will use the funds to advance its expertise and additional its objective of putting one billion professionals with organisations devoted to significant change.
Beginning of ImpactPool
Based by Magnus Bucht and Henrik Ryden in 2015, Impactpool is a profession platform that connects professionals with job alternatives within the worldwide growth, humanitarian, and impact-driven sectors.
Magnus Bucht and Henrik Ryden had labored in recruitment throughout the sector for 15 years earlier than they began Impactpool with their technical co-founder, Jon.
Each labored for a few years for the United Nations, main worldwide environmental organisations, and Sida, the Swedish authorities company working to create higher residing circumstances for folks residing in poverty and oppression.
The concept got here as Magnus and Henrik had seen the big curiosity from skills worldwide who needed to work for these worldwide organisations, and the dearth of an excellent platform that made it simple to search out related jobs.
Equally, once they had been recruiting, they lacked an excellent platform the place they may attain related candidates.
“Given the state of the planet, increasingly candidates need to have a profession the place they know they may contribute to sustainability, and we knew that we had the expertise to construct one thing that might create excessive worth for each candidates and employers,” says Magnus Bucht, CEO & co-founder of Impactpool in an interview with Silicon Canals.
AI expertise behind Impactpool
The Swedish firm makes use of its AI capabilities to supply job listings, expertise swimming pools, employer branding, profession sources, and personalised job alerts from 1000’s of worldwide organisations.
Explaining ImpactPool’s expertise, Bucht says, “Firstly, we’ve got skilled our AI on over 1 million job descriptions from over 2,700 influence organisations for over eight years, so it understands this sector in a approach {that a} “generic” AI would by no means be capable to. Most of the influence organizations have titles, expertise, and necessities that different techniques don’t perceive, along with the everyday jobs inside gross sales, admin, advertising, logistics, and many others.”
He continues, “Secondly, with the usage of generative AI, we can be launching refined companies that may allow each recruiters and candidates to establish expertise from a contextual perspective. For instance, should you take a look at the talent of logistics, it’s fairly completely different in case you have been managing logistics in Amsterdam or in case you have been doing it whereas residing in a container in Gaza.”
The corporate’s platform goals to bridge the hole between professionals looking for significant work and organisations striving to make a distinction worldwide.
Partnerships, hiring expertise, and extra
Since its inception, the Swedish firm has partnered with main UN organisations, together with UNICEF, UNHCR, and UNESCO.
The platform has expanded its attain to attach expertise with worldwide organisations comparable to OECD, the World Well being Group, and the Inexperienced Local weather Fund, in addition to for-profit corporations dedicated to social influence.
“Nearly each day, we obtain messages from candidates thanking us for making this sector comprehensible, serving to them discover related jobs, serving to them make their functions stand out, and touchdown their dream jobs. Notably, these messages largely come from candidates who’re making use of for positions throughout the United Nations organisation, which may be fairly complicated if they’re coming from the non-public sector. Aside from candidate suggestions, our long-term recurring clients witness that Impactpool performs a vital position in filling complicated positions,” he explains.
So far, Impactpool has witnessed the registration of almost a million candidates from 195 international locations and its assist for over 2,500 organisations worldwide.
Challenges
Since its launch, the corporate has been actively working to keep up a various candidate pool. It implies that it goals to cater to people who register their profiles and use their companies from everywhere in the world, no matter their background.
This dedication ensures certified candidates, no matter origin and background, have entry to alternatives by Impactpool.
“Working with range and inclusion may be very difficult and generally politically delicate, however we need to be energetic in growing consciousness and eradicating limitations and biases. We work actively to make it possible for the location is accessible and develop content material that helps all candidates,” he says.
“As range and inclusion are priorities for a lot of of our clients, we’ve got been actively working with them to succeed in out to particular goal teams, comparable to candidates with disabilities, ladies in tech, candidates from particular international locations, and candidates from particular “occupational areas,” he provides.
Way forward for worldwide growth and humanitarian work
Bucht claims that varied elements will trigger the panorama of worldwide growth and humanitarian work to endure important adjustments within the subsequent 5 years.
“One issue is the shift to distant jobs, which have dramatically elevated post-pandemic, even throughout the UN and worldwide organisations. One other is how AI will have an effect on all jobs within the coming years, with sure jobs disappearing and new jobs that we can’t even take into consideration growing,” he provides.
One other vital issue shaping the sector’s panorama is the emphasis on localisation, based on him.
“In worldwide growth and humanitarian work, the everyday staffing of worldwide operations has historically been worldwide specialists. Now, most organisations are shifting in direction of having the vast majority of their workers domestically recruited and only some worldwide specialists,” he continues.
Nonetheless, Impactpool may be very well-positioned for these adjustments, he claims.
The platform gives particular search choices for distant jobs and permits employers to entry prime expertise no matter their location.
The corporate’s AI expertise helps each candidates and employers, retaining observe of the evolving talent necessities sought by employers.
“Lastly, we’ve got a big expertise pool the place candidates are open to each native and worldwide jobs. With many different platforms, should you publish a job that’s primarily based in, e.g., Zambia and is open to each worldwide and native candidates, it’ll solely be matched to candidates in Zambia. On Impactpool, the job will mechanically be matched to related candidates in Zambia and people who are fascinated with worldwide alternatives,” he concludes.
What do traders should say?
Mediahuis is a media group in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Eire. The group was based in 2014 as a three way partnership between two publishing teams, Corelio and Concentra. With about 4,700 workers, Mediahuis realises an annual turnover of greater than €1B. Since its creation, Mediahuis has constructed a extremely diversified portfolio of stories media and digital manufacturers.
“We absolutely assist Impactpool’s mission to convey collectively prime expertise to deal with international challenges, aligning completely with Mediahuis’ values of making influence. Impactpool gives an accessible platform for candidates to attach with influence organisations looking for prime expertise. We enormously admire their potential to merge important influence with sturdy efficiency and development as an organization. We stay up for supporting their sustainable journey forward,” says Patrick De Wachter, Director of Company Improvement at Mediahuis.
Fort Knox is a family-owned firm that invests in small and medium-sized corporations. Apart from capital, Fort Knox helps corporations by sector-specific in-depth information and networking.
“Since our funding in Impactpool, the crew has delivered past our expectations. We’re impressed with the work that has been carried out, each from a product- and business-development perspective. Along with Mediahuis, we now have one other long-term investor who’s absolutely dedicated to supporting Impactpool’s journey of serving to candidates and organizations create a extra constructive influence,” says Markus Olsson, CEO at Fort Knox.
