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Cape Town - South African employment startup Giraffe has won $500 000 in funding from an international organisation to ramp up its bid to connect employers with employees.
The startup which was launched in February 2015, won the award from Seedstars World which is a Switzerland based startup competition aimed at emerging markets.
“We’re very proud to have a Silicon Valley investor supporting a South African company, especially at this troubled time of prevailing economic malaise,” said Anish Shivdasani, Giraffe chief executive and co-founder.
Employers can submit recruit requests through the website and the automated system matches those requests with relevant skills and contacts parties via SMS.
READ: SA startups eye investment jackpot
“Giraffe is filling a critical gap within the South African job market, which is helping medium-skilled job-seekers connect with potential employers, and doing it with a technology-enabled platform that brings intelligence and efficiency to the process,” said Charmaine Padayachy, principal of Investments at Omidyar Network, principal investor in Giraffe.
Omidyar Network is a “philanthropic investment firm” focused on emerging markets that specialises in mobile internet, financial inclusion, education and governance fields.
Giraffe beat out 63 global startups to win the Best Global Startup title.
The startup has attracted 90 000 job seekers since launch, mainly in retail, call centre, transportation, and administrative services fields.
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