Bossjob, an online job search platform with 2.9 million users in the Philippines, has raised $5 million in a funding round. The company said it officially launched its globalization strategy following the investment. The startup plans to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach. It is venturing into Singapore and Indonesian markets this month, with the Hong Kong market plan for the third quarter of 2023.
However, the backers were not disclosed in this round.
Founded in 2018, Bossjob is a chat-first recruitment mobile software focusing on direct online hire and talent matching, allowing bosses and talents to communicate quickly via direct chat. On its platform, employers from countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan look for talent in the Philippines, showing a global demand for skilled talent from SEA. The startup aims to reach out to people by ingeniously applying industrial and scientific knowledge and offering people a tech-friendly, smooth world.
Speaking about the platform, Co-founder & CEO of Bossjob, Kiat How Quak, said:
Legacy recruitment websites, created in the Web 1.0 era, have outdated matching capabilities and business models based on selling job ads and resumes, which do not meet the expectations of companies nowadays, in terms of efficiency and effective cost per hire. Some firms rely on headhunters, but their high commission rates, typically 20% to 30% of a hire’s annual salary, pose a significant burden for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Bossjob entered the Philippine market with its innovative MDD model of “mobile + direct chat + AI-matching,” introducing direct chat into the recruitment scene. With the help of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies and big data, the platform recommends highly suitable and active candidates to employers and relevant job opportunities to job seekers. This enhances matching accuracy for both parties, reduces information asymmetry, and improves recruitment efficiency.
On Bossjob, companies pay for engagement with potential employees instead of job ad views, leading to a higher payment penetration rate and reduced average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) compared to conventional recruitment platforms, lowering the entry threshold for businesses. Upon onboarding, over 80 per cent of job seekers on the platform have initiated chats with employers, indicating users are recommended with highly relevant job openings. Employers actively engage job seekers with 60 per cent to 80 per cent response rates. The platform sees a successful matching rate of about 50 per cent.
Demand has significantly increased among global employers for talent from SEA, particularly in the Philippines.
Kiat added:
The quality of talent and the effectiveness of matching on online recruitment platforms are becoming increasingly important to employers in the face of intense competition for talent, which presents an opportunity for Bossjob’s globalization strategy to take hold.
So far, over 10,000 companies in the Philippines are utilizing their platform, including reputable brands such as SM Investments Corporation and Accenture and BPO firms like Acquire BPO Philippines and Foundever. Bossjob hopes to have more than 30 million users in Southeast Asia by 2026. To accelerate its expansion goals, the firm offers free trials to companies this year.
