Singapore HR-tech startup Rewardz ropes in $2.1m strategic investment from Benefit One

Visual of Rewardz homepage. December 2016

By Shiwen Yap

December 14, 2016

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”.

Also Read: 

Singapore eDevelopment explores expansion of property arm, biomedical ventures

Singapore: Materion to acquire Heraeus, Singapore assets under negotiation

Senjo Group invests $1.2m in Singapore enterprise customer aggregator Tjaara

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW