Singapore-based HR technology solutions provider, Rewardz Pte Ltd., has secured an investment from Tokyo-listed Benefit One Inc., a fringe benefit outsourcing services firm.
Following the deal, Benefit One becomes a major stakeholder of Rewardz with an investment of S$3 million ($2.1 million).
Founded by Sudhanshu Tewari, Nicole Seah and Jaya Maru, Rewardz will focus on turning its current entities in Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai profitable in 2017. There are also plans to expand to other Asian markets.
According to Tewari, although there were no immediate plans to enter Japan for Rewardz, they will be integrating their technology into the Benefit One platform in the future.
Rewardz has been digitising HR services in Singapore with products like EmPerks and Flabuless, which integrate traditional corporate benefits programmes with an online mobile application that allows staff to better visualise their benefits and track their progress when it comes to their health. The platform also allows employers to reward employees for their participation and progress.
The mobile-ready platform has already drawn keen interest from the group insurance industry and has also been made available outside Singapore in Dubai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. This comes at a time when venture capitalists are taking an increasing interest in HR tech enterprises. Data compiled by CB Insights indicates that by the end of Q1 2016, HR tech enterprise had secured about $600 million in venture capital across 106 deals.
This is a positive indicator for the HR space as a whole and for Rewardz, which reports taking on more than 50 clients and over 200,000 employees over the last four years, including DBS, Manulife, Disney, NUHS, JTC, Fuji Xerox, DB Schenker, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Ascott Holdings, Lendlease, among many others.
“One of the biggest challenges faced by any technology start-up is funding the company until it scales up sufficiently to support itself,“ said Sudhanshu Tewari, CEO of Rewardz.
“This long term strategic partnership with Benefit One has solved this crucial problem for us and we will be fully focused on growth and scaling the business. We are excited to expand the company with an experienced partner like Benefit One”.
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