Stockholm-based Impactpool, an AI-enabled profession platform, introduced on Tuesday that it has secured $4M (roughly €3.6M) in a Sequence A funding spherical led by Mediahuis and Fort Knox.
The corporate will use the funds to advance its know-how and additional its objective of putting one billion professionals with organisations devoted to significant change.
Start 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 dwelling situations for individuals dwelling in poverty and oppression.
The thought got here as Magnus and Henrik had seen the big curiosity from skills worldwide who needed to work for these worldwide organisations, and the shortage of a great platform that made it simple to search out related jobs.
Equally, once they had been recruiting, they lacked a great platform the place they may attain related candidates.
“Given the state of the planet, an increasing number of candidates need to have a profession the place they know they’ll contribute to sustainability, and we knew that we had the expertise to construct one thing that will create excessive worth for each candidates and employers,” says Magnus Bucht, CEO & co-founder of Impactpool in an interview with Silicon Canals.
AI know-how behind Impactpool
The Swedish firm makes use of its AI capabilities to supply job listings, expertise swimming pools, employer branding, profession assets, and personalised job alerts from hundreds of worldwide organisations.
Explaining ImpactPool’s know-how, Bucht says, “Firstly, we have now 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 manner {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 and marketing, logistics, and so on.”
He continues, “Secondly, with the usage of generative AI, we might be launching subtle companies that can allow each recruiters and candidates to determine expertise from a contextual perspective. For instance, in the event you take a look at the ability of logistics, it’s fairly completely different you probably have been managing logistics in Amsterdam or you probably have been doing it whereas dwelling in a container in Gaza.”
The corporate’s platform goals to bridge the hole between professionals in search of 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 firms dedicated to social influence.
“Nearly day by 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 principally come from candidates who’re making use of for positions throughout the United Nations organisation, which will be fairly complicated if they’re coming from the non-public sector. Aside from candidate suggestions, our long-term recurring prospects witness that Impactpool performs a vital function in filling complicated positions,” he explains.
Up to now, Impactpool has witnessed the registration of almost a million candidates from 195 nations and its assist for over 2,500 organisations worldwide.
Challenges
Since its launch, the corporate has been actively working to take care of a various candidate pool. It implies that it goals to cater to people who register their profiles and use their companies from all around the world, regardless of their background.
This dedication ensures certified candidates, no matter origin and background, have entry to alternatives by way of Impactpool.
“Working with range and inclusion will be very difficult and generally politically delicate, however we need to be lively in rising consciousness and eradicating limitations and biases. We work actively to make it possible for the positioning is accessible and develop content material that helps all candidates,” he says.
“As range and inclusion are priorities for a lot of of our prospects, we have now been actively working with them to succeed in out to particular goal teams, comparable to candidates with disabilities, girls in tech, candidates from particular nations, and candidates from particular “occupational areas,” he provides.
Way forward for worldwide growth and humanitarian work
Bucht claims that varied components will trigger the panorama of worldwide growth and humanitarian work to bear important modifications 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 not even take into consideration creating,” he provides.
One other necessary issue shaping the sector’s panorama is the emphasis on localisation, in line with him.
“In worldwide growth and humanitarian work, the everyday staffing of worldwide operations has historically been worldwide consultants. Now, most organisations are shifting in direction of having nearly all of their workers domestically recruited and just a few worldwide consultants,” he continues.
Nevertheless, Impactpool could be very well-positioned for these modifications, he claims.
The platform affords particular search choices for distant jobs and permits employers to entry high expertise regardless of their location.
The corporate’s AI know-how helps each candidates and employers, conserving observe of the evolving ability necessities sought by employers.
“Lastly, we have now a big expertise pool the place candidates are open to each native and worldwide jobs. With many different platforms, in the event you put up 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 occupied with worldwide alternatives,” he concludes.
What do buyers need to 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 staff, Mediahuis realises an annual turnover of greater than €1B. Since its creation, Mediahuis has constructed a extremely diversified portfolio of reports media and digital manufacturers.
“We totally assist Impactpool’s mission to carry collectively high expertise to deal with world challenges, aligning completely with Mediahuis’ values of making influence. Impactpool affords an accessible platform for candidates to attach with influence organisations in search of high expertise. We tremendously admire their capacity to merge important influence with sturdy efficiency and progress as an organization. We sit up for supporting their sustainable journey forward,” says Patrick De Wachter, Director of Company Growth at Mediahuis.
Fort Knox is a family-owned firm that invests in small and medium-sized firms. Moreover capital, Fort Knox helps firms by way of 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 totally dedicated to supporting Impactpool’s journey of serving to candidates and organizations create a extra optimistic influence,” says Markus Olsson, CEO at Fort Knox.