BetterPlace, an India-based frontline workforce management software as a service (SaaS) platform, has on Monday announced the acquisition of TROOPERS, a Malaysia-based flexi talent solutions technology player.

BetterPlace said in a statement that its acquisition of TROOPERS will accelerate its presence in the region and establish a stronger foothold in Southeast Asia.

It said the acquisition will integrate TROOPERS’ automated gig matching and rostering features into BetterPlace’s comprehensive SaaS platform.

According to Pravin Agarwala, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of BetterPlace, Southeast Asia is expected to see a significant growth in demand for gig workers in the next five years, with the gig economy growing by 31 percent since 2017, well ahead of the growth in conventional workforce,

In Malaysia alone, he said 84 percent of hiring managers prefer hiring gig-workers.

“We are pleased to offer a robust SaaS solution catering to the growing market demand. Our comprehensive SaaS platform and artificial intelligence (AI) based algorithms, combined with TROOPERS; innovative flexi-talent solutions, enables enterprises to effectively tackle challenges such as high attrition rates, escalating labor and management costs, and skilled workforce shortages,

“Concurrently, frontline workers can optimize their earning potential through TROOPERS’ proprietary gig matching algorithms,” he added.

TROOPERS, founded in 2017, is a flexi-talent solutions platform that offers on-demand, pre-screened, part-time frontline workers to enterprises, enabling them to scale up their gig workforce based on operational demands.

With a machine learning algorithm achieving a 95 percent matching rate, TROOPERS has helped over 50,000 gig workers in Malaysia find employment since its inception.

As part of its ongoing commitment in building a flexible ecosystem, TROOPERS launched the TROOPERS App in 2021 which has since garnered over 180,000 verified users, generating over MYR20 million ($4.52m) in income for gig workers with more than 200,000 shifts transacted on the app.

“Majority of the workforce ecosystem in Southeast Asia is informal, making it difficult for workers to discover supplementary jobs or increase their earning potential,

“Additionally, workers do not have the necessary skills to match growing enterprise requirements,” said Joshua Tan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TROOPERS.

Building on the principles of transparency, accountability, and legitimacy, he said he started TROOPERS to address talent shortage and workforce productivity for enterprises while creating better livelihoods for workers in Malaysia.

“We are eager to utilize BetterPlace’s technological prowess and industry knowledge to scale our offering, potentially transforming the landscape of frontline work in Southeast Asia,” he added.

According to the statement, gig and workspace as a service (WaaS) represent the future of work, addressing the high variability in demand patterns often experienced by enterprises.

Companies increasingly seek to bridge skill gaps through “just in time” or adequate supply while enabling workers to maximize their earning potential by connecting them with suitable gigs.

However, enterprises continue to face challenges in finding the right flex- talent, managing rostering and addressing skilling issues, which ultimately impact the productivity and efficiency of their operations.

BetterPlace said the firm continually develops cutting-edge, tech-driven solutions that enable enterprises to be future-ready.

The company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered enterprise platform provides robust matchmaking capabilities for companies seeking skilled candidates for gig and full-time positions.

In addition to hiring and applicant tracking software (ATS) solutions, the company also offers remote onboarding, rostering, and digital upskilling capabilities for enterprises.

Workers, in turn, gain access to higher earning opportunities, enhancing their earnings per hour.

The acquisition of TROOPERS follows BetterPlace’s recent expansion in the region.

In February 2023, BetterPlace acquired Indonesia’s leading blue collar workforce fulfillment platform, MyRobin, marking the company’s first foray into the Southeast Asian region.

Founded in 2015, BetterPlace is Asia’s largest SaaS and frontline workforce management platform.

The company has over 30 million workers on the platform and over 1,100 companies as clients.

Being a full- stack solution, BetterPlace caters to the entire value chain of frontline workforce management from verification, discovery, hiring, and onboarding to upskilling, productivity management and benefits transfer.

BetterPlace has also launched their business to consumer (B2C) platform Rocket which partners with enterprises to upskill frontline workers free of cost so that more frontline workers are job ready and enterprises have access to pre-trained frontline workforce.

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