London-based Gen Z recruitment platform hundo is the first-of-its-kind social impact business that was built for the metaverse. The company just announced that it has picked up $2 million (nearly £1.5 million) in seed funding and plans to secure Series A funding next year.
Future plans
The investment round was led by Ascension VC, with Moscar Capital and Outlier Ventures alongside a number of Angel investors. Also, it comes after hundo’s partnerships with major UK employers including Reed Global, BUPA and Matrix SCM. Now, it will rapidly scale to bridge the widening gap between education and skills and increase employment opportunities for Gen Z.
Commenting on the funding announcement, hundo co-founder Esther O’Callaghan OBE stated: “At the heart of hundo is a belief that it is possible to scale an agile solution that empowers young people to own their future through decent, paid employment that is the basic foundation for them to build their lives from. Ultimately, young people will be able to learn, work and earn online through the hundo platform wherever they are in the world.”
Sam Marchant from Ascension VC said: “hundo has developed a market leading solution to support young people achieve full-time employment. The hundo team are exceptional, mission driven and have shown strong execution in developing the platform. We are excited to be leading this investment round from our Fair by Design Fund, which supports businesses aiming to alleviate the Poverty Premium (the extra cost of being poor).”
Jo Patterson, Managing Director of 3Monkeys Zeno said: “hundo presents a fascinating solution to a problem which the communications industry faces every day – how to ensure our workforce represents the people we’re trying to communicate with. I’m excited to back such a forward-thinking company with a real solution to improving diverse representation in large companies and help us foster more creative thinking and inclusive work environments.”
Prepares Gen Z for the future of work
hundo was founded by Esther O’Callaghan OBE and Piers Collins. It builds on first-hand experience of working with disadvantaged youth communities and a vision to tackle inequalities in how companies find and hire young talent from diverse backgrounds. The success for hundo is evident as 50 percent of hundo candidates are coming from significantly disadvantaged backgrounds. A staggering 84 percent of young people coming through hundo are employed 12 months later as well.
Through its “Career Collab”, hundo provides an early talent acquisition model that delivers higher ROI, attraction and retention rates compared to job boards and recruitment.