Japanese HR company Mynavi purchases Indian gig worker startup Awign

Japanese HR company Mynavi purchases Indian gig worker startup Awign

Startup

The founding group of Awign will now own the majority of the company's shares, and they will continue to oversee day-to-day operations. 

In what the Bengaluru-based firm called the biggest HR acquisition in India in 20 years, Japanese company Mynavi Corporation has purchased gig-worker platform Awign in an all-cash deal.

As the gig economy takes off in India, Awign announced on April 26 that its founding team would remain in charge of the company, with Mynavi serving as the largest shareholder.

"Compared to what we had before, we will have a great deal more autonomy. It is difficult to guide a big number of investors in one way when you have them. The founder and CEO of Awign, Annanya Sarthak, told Moneycontrol, "Over the years, we have been very myopic in addition to at times resorted to short term techniques in order to raise money."

With Mynavi joining the team, we are no longer only a series B company. We become a much more mature organization with Mynavi's assistance in developing extensive internal governance and compliance, he said.

Awign was founded by Annanya Sarthak, Gurpreet S. Khurana, and Praveen Kumar Sah. It helps businesses in industries including retail, FMCG, automotive, education, manufacturing, construction, and pharmaceuticals manage expenses by streamlining work processes and guaranteeing high-quality outputs. The business offers management services for gig workers to businesses such as Dunzo, Unacademy, and Byju's.

In 2022, Bertelsmann India Investments as well as Amicus Capital Partners led a $15 million Series B investment for Awign, with additional funding from Mynavi Corporation.

Since its establishment in 2016, the firm has received around $29 million from investors in roughly eight investment rounds, according to Tracxn.

Awign's early investors, including Capria, Lumis, MSDF, Amicus Capital, and Pankaj Bansal, will also have an exit route via the transaction.

With offices throughout Japan, the US, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Poland, as well as India, Mynavi Corporation is one of the biggest HR firms in Japan.

Awign's triumph

Sarthak claims that the agreement is the biggest transaction in India's HR sector in the last 20 years.

However, since Awign withheld the specifics of the transaction amount, Moneycontrol was unable to independently confirm the assertion.

Awign will prioritize personnel, branding, and technological development with the infusion of fresh capital.

"We will be investing in recruiting the top people in the nation for senior and mid-level management positions, whether it be in sales or technology. Our goal is to increase the company's level of experience. By informing clients and businesses about the nature of work in the future, we also want to concentrate on developing a sizable B2B brand, said Sarthak.

He also said that the firm would keep concentrating on advancing its technology to provide better services to businesses and gig workers alike.

According to Khurana, the business will now have access to a wider range of international customers that Mynavi serves.

"We want to continue operating in India and give that country our primary attention. We have no desire to go to Vietnam, the Philippines, or Indonesia to begin hiring labor there.

"We are addressing the issue of underemployment in India as well as the environment, and we will keep up this work for the next five years. However, with Mynavi joining the market, we would be able to reach many international clients that have operations in India, according to Khurana.

Mynavi intends to use this purchase to expand its footprint across Asia by competing with Indian employment firms in the Indian market.

We need to make a lot more investments and get a lot more expertise, therefore it doesn't make sense to just introduce our Japanese product into the Indian market. According to Hidekazu Ito, Managing Director of Mynavi Solutions India, a division of Mynavi Corporation, "My idea was to find a good set of promoters who have had the same vision," he told Moneycontrol.

Ito continued by saying that Mynavi will be able to comprehend problems with Awign, such as the talent gap, pay disparity, and unemployment in the Indian workforce.