BetterPlace to invest nearly $80 mn in next 5 years to expand operations

BetterPlace Global, a SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform for frontline workforce management platform, plans to invest nearly $80 million in the next five years as it looks to expand its operations in Southeast Asia, said co-founder and group CEO Pravin Agarwala.

The company plans to invest $50 million for its expansion in Southeast Asian countries and another $30 million for GCC countries.

The company has operations in India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and soon will expand operations to the Philippines.

• BetterPlace forays into South-East Asia with acquisition of Indonesia’s MyRobin

“In two markets in Southeast Asia, we took an organic approach by acquiring MyRobin, and Troopers. They both are complementary businesses to us and gave us access to these markets,” he said.

The company plans to use the investment for product innovation, building teams and network building.

The firm is also looking to double down on its investment in R&D for future growth in India and outside as well, adds Pravin.

“For us, 5X is a fair assumption on return. For every dollar we invest regularly, we want to be able to make $5,” he noted.

BetterPlace witnessed a jump of 5.5X growth year-on-year in FY22, clocking in ₹275 crore. For the current financial year, BetterPlace is looking for a 3X growth in revenue. The company aims to achieve earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) level profitability by 2023 and net profitability in 2024.

BetterPlace recently forayed into the financial services space with the launch of BetterPlace Money. The company aims to provide credit to over 10 million frontline workers globally through extensive partnerships with NBFCs.

BetterPlace Money was jointly launched by BetterPlace and Bueno Finance.

“Apart from the large suite of workforce management products, BetterPlace included products catering to benefits for frontline workers which included insurance, skilling, and mobility solutions for gig-workers. However, BetterPlace soon realised that many frontline workers in India often face a liquidity crunch which is hindering their financial wellbeing. BetterPlace Money was launched to solve this problem,” said co-founder Pravin.

“Through this strategy, BetterPlace partners with companies with deep expertise in a specific domain, acquiring their technology stack, teams and capabilities to provide these services to the large pool of enterprises on the BetterPlace platform,” he added.